


The Reason

by gwendee



Category: Assassination Classroom
Genre: Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Gen, High School, M/M, Post-Canon, Slice of Life, korosensei is dead
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-12
Updated: 2018-12-03
Packaged: 2019-08-22 17:18:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 21
Words: 29,880
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16602269
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gwendee/pseuds/gwendee
Summary: Post-canon Karma Akabane and Gakushuu Asano enter Kunugigaoka High School, deal with their friends and grades and rivalry, and fall in love along the way without realizing they do (even though everyone around them does).





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hi! This is my debut fic in this fandom and Karma/Gakushuu is my power couple, don't @ me. (Yes I do ship Karma/Nagisa, but there's like a million fics about that?)
> 
> (Notice I said debut fic in this fandom. I do go by another pseud in another fandom somewhere in AO3, so good luck finding me!)

Kunugigaoka High School was every bit the elitist dictatorship that it’s affiliated Middle School was, if not more. Why he didn’t chose to go halfway across the country like most of his ex-classmates did, Karma didn’t know, (and who could blame them, really? Kunugigaoka had nothing for them, but the memories of years of abuse suffered at the hands of their schoolmates under Asano Senior’s ridiculous policies.) 

Okay, he kind of knew the reason.

Maybe he could call Nakamura a comrade-in-arms, but Nagisa was Karma’s only real friend, and the trip from the house he lived in to Nagisa’s high school of choice was way too far. Besides, he never cared much for middle school anyways, and wasn’t around enough to take the brunt of the teasing that the other 3E students faced. (And most of the school population were too terrified to say anything in front of him anyways).

But, right, yes, the reason.

The Reason walks past him, book bag slung over one shoulder, tapping furiously on his phone screen.

Karma leans against a locker. “Oi, Asano.”

The Reason looks up. He scowls at Karma. “What do you want?”

“Wanted to say hi,” Karma says, grinning, “we’ll be seeing much more of each other, Second-Place. Ready to get your ass kicked?”

Asano narrows his eyes. Then his face schools itself into a neutral and cool expression so quickly that Karma briefly wonders if he practices in front of the mirror. 

Probably. Heh.

“Okay,” Asano says, “how about this. Let’s make a bet.”

“A bet,” Karma echoes.

“Whoever who tops the cohort for this mid-years exam gets to make the loser do one thing.”  He smiles a little, and it was too mild and sincere for an Asano that it was slightly terrifying.

“Didn’t we already make this bet last year?” Karma asks.

Asano’s eye twitches a little, by far the only sign of irritation on his face. He smiles wider. If Karma was a bit more oblivious, he would be fooled.

“Well then,” Karma says, “I think you’ll look good in a maid costume, won’t you, Second Place?” He extends a hand.

“Oh?” Asano accepts the handshake, and grips it hard. “I think bright blue hair suits you, yes?”

“Nagisa pulled it off,” Karma shrugs, squeezing Asano’s hand. There’s a wry tilt to Asano’s lips as he attempts to crush Karma’s fingers. It’s a pretty ridiculous sight, a handshake standstill with neither party letting go.

“Oh come on,” Sakakibara’s voice carries over, “what the fuck are you two doing? Can we not start this… whatever weird rivalry you have on the literal first week of high school? We’ve been waiting for like, ten minutes at the gate for you.”

Asano wrenches his hand from Karma, and frowns at him.

“Bye bye, Second-Place,” Karma says.

“Stop calling me that,” Asano says.

“Dude,” Sakakibara groans.

\--

“So how’s Asano?” Nagisa says, when the Skype call connects. He has his hair freshly cut by his mother, and it’s honestly pretty surreal.

“How would I know that?” Karma says, “why is that the first question you ask me? No, “Karma how are you doing? I haven’t seen you in forever. Do you miss me?” Cold, Nagisa, cold.”

“We called each other yesterday,” Nagisa says, amused, “and you only talk about 3 things when you call me. School, Asano, and whether I asked Kayano out yet.”

“Well have you?” Karma asks, “I talk about way more stuff with you. Maybe I wanted to talk about a movie. Or food, or school.”

“You couldn’t have gotten into trouble already, right?” Nagisa’s eyes widen in mock concern, “did you kill someone? Oh geez Karma, all the training we went through wasn’t for-”

“-No, you ass,” Karma laughs, “but anyways, Asano-”

“I knew it!” Nagisa yells.

“Shut up!” Karma grins at him, “I’m not that predictable. Anyways, remember that bet we made with 3-A? If we topped exams, we got to request anything from them?”

“You are pretty predictable,” Nagisa disagrees, “but yes, I see where this is going. Just between the two of you?”

“Well we are in the same class now anyways,” Karma shrugs, “and it’s not like there’s anyone who can match up to our standards. Come on, help me think of something to make Asano do.”

“You’re a child,” Nagisa says.

“I’m your practice kid for your future teaching career,” Karma retorts.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm back!  
> Trying to update every 1-3 days, it's NaNoWriMo after all, so why not get in the spirit.

“What do you think about our lord and savior, me?” Karma says. He leans against The Reason’s table, strategically placed in the middle of class (his own was in the back corner next to the door which let him slip in and out of class mostly un-noticably) and he feels Asano shift a little in response, but make no move to leave. 

“Are you starting a cult?” Asano says distractedly, head buried in a book.

“How did you know?” Karma shoves half of Asano’s belongings to the side and sits cross-legged on the desk.

“The fuck you did that for?” Asano looks up and glares at Karma’s shoe.

“I’m bored.”

“Go be bored somewhere else,” Asano says, irritation visible. 

“Class starts in 10 so I have to be here anyways,” Karma points out.

“Since when do you care about punctuality and attendance?” Asano raises an eyebrow.

“Since I have a bet to win,” Karma grins at him.

From the corner of his eye, Karma sees Sakakibara gesture towards him, and say something to Araki and Koyama. Asano is too observant to miss that exchange, too, and does some strange expression-telepathy that only close friends can manage with each other.

“Oi, Asano, don’t ignore me,” Karma says, pitching his voice high to annoy the blonde. The rest of 1-A have started milling into the room back from their break, and are staring pointedly in his direction. Karma delights in seeing Asano disguise irritation with a charismatic smile and a twinkle in his eye that spells trouble, now that their audience has grown. He doesn’t doubt that Asano is planning to run for Student Council again, and continue his flower-child top-student reputation.

Ex-top-student. Hah!

“Sorry about that, Akabane,” he says, voice laced with sugar sweetness and promise of long and slow torture, “but I think class is starting soon. Maybe we can continue our conversation later?”

Class did start in a minute. “Okay, Ahhhh-Sannn-Nooo,” Karma chirps, “wanna walk home after school, too? Hold hands, talk about girls?”

There’s giggles from their classmates. Asano stares at him so flatly that Karma almost feels like roadkill. “If you want,” Asano says genially.

Karma smirks, and he would swear for a brief moment Asano looks panicked. 

Let it be known to never underestimate the persistence and caustic factor of Karma Akabane.

\--

“Asano!” A voice rings out across the school compound, the same time the bell does. 

Oh no. Oh no.

“Oh no,” Gakushuu says. 

“Aren’t you two going to hold hands, talk about girls?” Ren teases.

“Oh no,” Gakushuu repeats.

“I’m pretty sure half the school population would turn a blind eye if you were mean to one person,” Seo says, “can’t like everyone, after all, student council or not.”

“Damn if I let Akabane get on my nerves,” Gakushuu hisses.

“He’s already on your nerves,” Koyama points out unhelpfully. Ren snickers.

“Asano,” Akabane says, walking to keep pace, “remember what you agreed to?”

“Conditionally,” Gakushuu says. The student population’s eyes are on them now, 1-A giggling conspiratorially. The rivalry between the top two students of Kunugigaoka Middle School was a pretty hot topic, given that it was rare anyone held the monopoly of top and even rarer that anyone from the E-Class managed to compete. Being the son of the ex-principal was a factor.

“The condition was that I wanted to,” Akabane points out, “and I do.”

“I’ll walk with you to the school gate if you shut up,” Gakushuu immediately offers, sensing that Akabane wasn’t going to leave anytime soon, “but no talking about… girls. Definite no to the hand-holding.”

Ren laughs. What an asshole.

“What a gentleman,” Akabane pretends to swoon, “but the hand-holding’s the best part! You sure? I’m a great hand holder.”

Seo immediately dissolves into helpless laughter, despite trying to keep a straight face. Araki soon follows. 

“Not particularly interested in evaluating your hand-holding techniques,” Gakushuu counters, “wow, look at that! The school gate. Bye, Akabane.”

“How the time has passed,” Akabane says, “fun talking to you. We should hold hands next time. See if I’m better than you, Second-Place.”

Koyama’s resistance is futile. He immediately loses it.

“You have to admit that was hilarious,” Ren says breathless, the first one to recover. 

“No,” Gakushuu says, “get away from me, you assholes. Watching me suffer like that. Next time Akabane bothers you, I’m not rescuing any of you.”

“Don’t worry boss, didn’t you hear?” Seo chortles, “he just wants to hold your hand!” Then immediately doubles over as Gakushuu elbows him in the stomach.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tell me what you think! I welcome spam.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Haha oops this is a little weird chapter.

Gakushuu wouldn’t say he’s the most patient of people, but that came inherited. He and his father wants results and they want it quickly, but both were capable of lying low and pulling strings when it came to it.

This. 

This wanted to make him cut strings.

Strings of life. Preferably Akabane’s. Maybe his.  

“No,” he says.

Akabane looks amused. “Come on.”

“I’m not holding your hand! Go away.”

Akabane sticks out his hand, waiting expectantly.

Behind him, the Virtuosos lose their shit. Araki is filming.

“Come on, you said yes yesterday!” Akabane whines. His eyes twinkle mischievously. Gakushuu wants to punch him.

Their classmates are watching, not bothering to hide their enthusiasm and glee. Trust Akabane to start a weird conversation like this in goddamn public, where Gakushuu can’t physically fight him.

“I never said yes,” Gakushuu said. The bell rang a full 5 minutes ago and no one in their classroom has made a move to leave. 

“You said if I wanted,” Akabane says, “and I want it.”

Gakushuu’s gaze flickers from Akabane’s annoyingly smug face, to his hands, then to the door. He slings the book bag around his shoulder, then says, “Akabane?”

Akabane cocks his head curiously, wondering what conclusion Gakushuu had come to, hand dropping. “Yes?” 

Gakushuu smiles a little, and that’s the only warning Akabane gets. He grabs Akabane’s wrist in a death grip and yanks hard, then immediately bolts. 

\--

Karma’s a little ashamed to admit he shrieked, just a bit. May have twisted an ankle trying to brace his fall, and knocked over a student’s desk or two. 

Asano pulls him along out of the classroom, down the hall, and thankfully lets go of his wrist before leaping down the stairs. Karma grabs onto the railing to avoid falling face-first onto the steps, then whips his head up to see Asano staring at him challengingly, eyebrow raised.

Oh, it was on.

Karma supposes he can cross out “play school-wide tag with Gakushuu Asano” off his bucket list. Not that it would have made it on the list in the first place.

“Oh my god,” Asano says, wide eyed, when they’re on the rooftop. He’s leaning against the wall and panting hard, face flushed. “What the fuck?”

“Don’t look at me, it was your idea,” Karma says, breathing hard. He’s ditched his blazer somewhere on the second floor when it got caught in a doorknob. Asano still has his on, but he quickly takes it off. 

Karma’s not staring.

“I’m so dead,” Asano says. It’s contradictory with the exhilarated grin on his face, and Karma momentarily registers that this is the first genuine positive expression he’s seen on Asano. Must be still coming off the adrenaline high. 

“Tag’s not against the school rules,” Karma laughs. Asano looks over, then away. “I almost ran over his, ah, ex-secretary. God, I’m dead.”

“Your dad? The ex-principal?” Karma asks. He pulls out his phone, and there are maybe a hundred notifications. He scans through them quickly.

“Oh my god,” Asano says, about the same time he thinks it. Karma looks up to see him on his phone, too.

“We’re trending on Instagram,” Karma tells him.

“What the fuck is Karashuu?” Asano says.

“It’s us. They mashed our first names together,” Karma tells him, then scrolls through the feed. “Karashuu” and “Kunugigaoka Tag” are trending, and it’s littered with blurry shots and videos of him and Asano dashing around, jumping off walls and leaping over furniture. There’s a particularly cool shot of him mid-jump over the staircase railing. 

“This is awful,” Asano says, “I’m so dead. The second fucking week of school.”

“Your idea,” Karma reminds him.

Asano flings his blazer at Karma’s face.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What do you think? Too weird??  
> Don't worry it gets better (I think).


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, my fellow fanatics! Have another chapter.

“I don’t want to talk about it,” is the first thing he says, when he walks over to the Virtuosos seated in the cafeteria, looking way too gleeful to be legal. It’s a whole hour after he first ditched them in their classroom. Students’ eyes are on them, whispering with phones held up.

“Where’s your blazer, Gakushuu?” Ren asks.

Gakushuu crosses his arms. “Akabane.”

“Uh huh,” Seo says, “where did you two go? We lost you after the basketball court.”

Gakushuu ignores him.  

“You’re hair’s messed up,” Ren says, “you look like you just ran a marathon.”

“Well,” Gakushuu says, and leaves it at that. His phone buzzes. There’s a cryptic text from his father that is the written equivalent of a raised eyebrow and a giant floating question mark, and he’s already dreading the conversation.

“Akabane spotted at school gates,” Araki says. He turns his phone to show an instagram post featuring a redhead posing with a peace-sign towards the camera at the school gates, Gakushuu’s blazer slung over his shoulders.

“Bitch,” he hisses, before he stops himself, then winces. Gakushuu tries to make an effort not to swear on school grounds, or where anyone can hear him. 

Ren gives him a weird look.

“Whatever,” Gakushuu mutters, “I’m going back. My father wants to talk to me. Wish me luck.”

“I’d smuggle you out of Japan if you need,” Koyama offers. Gakushuu cracks a smile at him, just because.

\--

His father has been shooting him increasingly exasperated and amused looks throughout dinner. It’s only when their maid clears up the empty plates that Gakushuu says, “what do you want? Or are you just going crazy? Your insanity will help in my case when I sue.”

“My sanity is fine, son, but yours isn’t,” Gakuhou says. He doesn’t hid the teasing lilt from his voice, and immediately Gakushuu groans.

“I never enforced any rules about playing tag on the school grounds,” his father muses, “although I thought that was a given, with the strict nature of this school and all. Aren’t you planning on running for student council next year? Or are you practicing for Track, instead?”

“I genuinely don’t know what came over me,” Gakushuu admits. 

“Akabane must be quite a, ah, character, to make you lose your cool like that,” Gakuhou laughs, scrolling through something on his phone. He pauses, squints, then says, “is that your blazer with him?”

Gakushuu groans, again.

His father opens his mouth to say something, thinks better of it, then smiles. It’s the same cryptic mild smile that Gakushuu himself has perfected to politely tell someone to fuck off, which to say that means he has absolutely no clue what his father was meaning to say.

There’s something in his eye that spells trouble. Gakushuu is, for the lack of a better word, concerned.

“What?” He tries.

His father takes a sip of water, then smiles that same smile again. 

It’s much more annoying on him. Gakushuu happens to think of himself as suave with that expression, but he’s seriously reconsidering it.

“Well?” He demands.

Asano Senior hums, then goes back to scrolling. “This picture is rather nice,” he comments, and turns his screen to show a snapshot of Gakushuu mid-tumble and Karma gripping onto his pant-leg, somewhere in the courtyard. It’s an unflattering and blurry photograph but that’s not why Gakushuu does a double-take.

It’s the blown-out grin on his own face that makes it unrecognizable.

Gakuhou smiles again but it’s different, a little softer and a little sad and a little of something Gakushuu can’t identify. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Life Be Like That Sometimes.


	5. Chapter 5

There are no other incidents much like the tag, and Karma continues to sit on Asano’s table and bug him with childish requests during break, when the students have milled out of the classroom. They both bring their own lunch, which leaves them one of the only people who are not regular patrons of the school cafeteria.

Karma sits on Asano’s table again, strawberry milk in one hand and phone in another. The 3-E Class chat explodes with activity at night but is rather uneventful during school hours, but Maehara just sent a picture of the back of Isogai’s head, so of course Karma had to reply. Karma takes a sneaky shot of Asano putting a riceball into his mouth. It’s not a bad looking picture, which is a little unfair, Karma thinks. 

Nakamura replies with a screenshot of an instagram post, featuring Asano leaping over a screaming student’s head. Karma distinctly remembers it ending with the blonde flipping and dropping to a roll, and the sheer impressiveness of that move had distracted him enough for Asano to get the upper hand and tag him.

“Karashuu,” she types.

Karma replies with another picture of Asano. 

Maehara sends a selfie of his face and Isogai’s back.

Kayano, or Yukimara, sends a picture of a beach. 

“Vacation???” comes Fuwa’s reply.

“I wish!” Kayano types, then sends a selfie with a large camera and a greenscreen in the background.

Karma takes a third picture of Asano. This time, he’s caught.

“Oi!” Asano snaps, “did you take a picture of me?”

“Yep,” Karma says, tapping.

“Who did you send that to?” Asano demands.

“3-E, duh,” Karma tells him, and takes a quick selfie, tongue sticking out and Asano’s incredulous expression behind him. “Got caught in the act,” he types.

Asano frowns at him, looking like he’s thinking really hard about something, and stabs a rice ball.

Karma waits a beat. Then two. Then he asks, “what’s up?”

“Nothing,” Asano says.

Karma leans forward and swipes a piece of meat off Asano’s bento. It says a lot when the blonde looks irritated but makes no move to attempt to get it back, or even shoot a witty comeback.

“What?” Karma asks, again. He pokes Asano with a chopstick.

“Ew! You’re disgusting,” Asano swipes at him, “go away, pest.”

“What is it, Second-Place?” Karma repeats, insistent. 

“You’re insufferable,” Asano mutters. Sakakibara enters chatting with another student, a girl that seems enamored by him, and Karma decides to let it drop.

For now, of course.

\--

By the end of the day Karma’s a little spooked by Asano. He responded to the paper plane at the back of his head with a mildly displeased look and didn’t threaten to maim Karma or anything with a glare like he normally does, and it’s just too out of character.

So Karma does what he does best.

“Hold my hand?” He asks, sticking his arm out. 

Asano’s been alternating between batting it away or sticking whatever piece of trash he has for about a month now, and Karma thinks he knows what to expect when Asano picks up the food wrapper someone has left on the floor next to his desk.

Key word: thinks.

Karma doesn’t trip over his feet or make a weird sound or anything when Asano actually takes his hand, but it’s a near thing. He thinks he hears someone swear, and the shutter sound of that camera Araki carries everywhere go off, and Asano tosses the wrapper into the bin as he tugs Karma out the door. 

People gape in the hall, too, and Asano drags him along with some single-minded determination. Karma avoids everyone’s eyes, mostly because of the shock. 

Asano walks him to the gate, then drops the hand.

“...Asano?” Karma says, hesitantly. The warmth of the other boy’s hand is still burned onto his palm.

Asano keeps walking.

Karma keeps pace, and buries his hands in his pockets. 

“3-E,” Asano finally says, a full two minutes after they start heading in the direction opposite of Karma’s house. 

“...Yeah?” Karma says, again.

“That, yellow,” Asano makes a lacklustre “that” gesture with his hands, “teacher? Was it?”

“Your dad never told you what happened?” Karma asks.

“Nope,” Asano says. 

“Is that what’s making you act weird all day?” Karma says.

“Somewhat,” Asano says distractedly, “it’s just.”

Karma waits.

“Nevermind,” Asano says a little too loudly, then, “I don’t. I’ll find out eventually.”

He’s embarrassed, Karma realizes with a little jolt, Asano’s avoiding his eye and looking straight ahead but he’s stiff. Guilty.

“You didn’t know,” Karma tells him gently, “it’s okay.”

“What are you talking about?” Asano glares, but there’s no real heat in it.

“All that stuff, that happened last year. You’re mean and arrogant but a ruler has to protect his people, right?” Karma says, remembering bits of Asano’s goodbye, “you didn’t know what we were going through. Whatever you did, I mean, I won’t say it’s okay, because you were a real asshole back then, but.”

Asano stays silent.

“You were still,” Karma makes an aborted gesture, “we were trying to handle all that mess with our, ah, yellow octopus teacher and you were a huge pain in the ass, but being your dad’s son must suck, right? That’s why you suck too. You know he brought grenades to our classroom?”

“What?” Asano stares, jaw dropped. 

“Yeah, it was pretty stupid,” Karma says, waving Asano’s “what the fuck” away, “it was, well, a real mess. I’ll tell you, but you know, eventually.”

Asano opens his mouth to say something, thinks, then closes it. Then he says, “fine by me, Akabane.”

“Cool,” Karma says, then, “where the hell are we going?”

“I don’t know where you live,” Asano shrugs.

\--

“Asano’s not an asshole,” Nagisa agrees, “okay, I mean, he kinda is, but not THAT big of one. He was actually kind of cool in the end, I guess.”

“Yeah,” Karma says, “never thought about how it bothered him I guess.”

“It affected all of us,” Nagisa says, “my mom - she still wakes up screaming, thinking Koro-sensei is going to hurt me and take me away. She never saw the side of him we did, just whatever the media showed her.”

“I’m not over it,” Karma admits.

“I don’t think any of us ever would be,” Nagisa sighs. Then, “so? What happened after that?”

“We went to get coffee, actually,” Karma says, “he’s a little high strung but pretty okay to talk to when he’s not trying to be a picture perfect kid in school.”

“And then?” Nagisa says expectantly.

“That’s it,” Karma eyes his best friend suspiciously through the screen, “you sound disappointed, what were you hoping for?”

“Oh, nothing,” Nagisa says, pouting.

“Nagisa,” Karma says warningly.

“I think my mom’s calling,” Nagisa says abruptly, looking a little shifty. She’s obviously not, but Nagisa shoots Karma an sheepish look and cuts the call anyways.

Weird.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, my brethren! It is time for more fic.

Their relationship gets better after that.

Asano still treats Karma the exact same way he normally does, that is to say, still being annoyed and bickering over petty things like scores and hand-holding and the supposed benefits of strawberry milk or lack thereof, but he’s noticeably less hostile.   

Karma would even think that they’re becoming tentative friends, of a sort.

“You and Asano, huh,” Kabaya says, one of Karma’s new friends who got into Kunugigaoka on merit and football, and almost pissed himself when he first found Karma messing with what seemed to be a bloody organ in the boys bathroom. (It was a gelatin present Karma had intended to leave for a teacher he didn’t like.)

“Hm? What?” Karma says.

“You and Asano,” Kabaya repeats, “you guys are what? Are you two friends? Friendly rivals? Arch-enemies?”

“I guess?” Karma shrugs, “don’t really know. I don’t think we need to put labels on what we are.”

Kabaya shoots him a flat look. “Well, he doesn’t hate you, and you don’t hate him. You like him?”

“What makes you think he doesn’t hate me?” Karma asks. He knows that Asano doesn’t necessarily consider him a friend, nor does he despise Karma too much, but he’s curious to see what an outsider thinks.

“Karma,” Kabaya says patiently, “if Asano hated you, he wouldn’t let you bother him when you’re bored, or let you steal his food, or even play a school-wide game of tag with you.”

“...Touche,” Karma says, then, “are we really still on that tag game?”

“No one is going to forget that anytime soon,” Kayaba insists, “the Karashuu tag is still trending. The latest picture is you two fighting over a piece of sushi.”

“Is it?” Karma looks at his phone, “That happened today, during lunch.”

“I know,” Kabaya says, amused, “and so does everyone else.”

\--

Kunugigaoka High’s first set of midterm exams comes and goes quickly.

Gakushuu is swamped with homework, studies, basketball practice, his various tutees and extracurriculars, and he’s glad that he’s not in the student council just yet.

Akabane’s a little nice about it. While Gakushuu still gets teased mercilessly about his study habits and dead face during lessons, Akabane seems to understand that he’s busy and backs down on the after school shenanigans.

The results come out soon after: Akabane’s 497 to Gakushuu’s own 497.

“Damn,” Akabane says, disappointed, perched on Gakushuu’s table and chomping down on part of Gakushuu’s stolen lunch, “end of semester exams then, I guess?”

“Sure,” Gakushuu shrugs. 

Karma sticks out a hand, and Gakushuu shakes it. There’s a very familiar parallel to the first week of school.

“Oh my god they’re doing it again,” Ren whispers loudly to Seo and Koyama, side-eyeing them with judgement, “I told you I wasn’t lying the last time.”

Karma snickers. Gakushuu scowls, and yanks his hand away to continue his lunch.

He managed to save most of his burger but the top bun was gone, who eats just the top bun of a burger he didn’t know, but now Gakushuu had to eat his like a cupcake to avoid all the sauce.

He briefly considers slapping Akabane with it, then decides he’s too hungry to bother.

“Where did you lose your marks?” Akabane asks him.  

“One in Math,” Gakushuu answers, “another in English, and another in Social Studies.”

“Still better in Math than you,” Akabane crows.

Gakushuu angrily bites his cupcake-burger. “Where did you lose yours then?” He challenges.

“One in Science, two in Japanese,” he says a little sheepishly.

“Been slipping up on your Japanese?” Gakushuu raises an eyebrow.

“Shut up,” Akabane huffs, “I’m better at math.”

“Weak,” Gakushuu comments. 

Karma narrows his eyes consideringly.

“No,” Gakushuu says.

\--

The Karushuu tag blows up, again. 

The culprit? A video, taken by Araki himself of all people, Karma flinging wasabi peas with the precision of a sharpshooter, and Gakushuu landing a very messy burger on the white of Karma’s uniform.

Gakuhou knows about it, of course. He looks at Gakushuu with way too much amusement during dinner, and laughs in his face for a whole minute. 

A whole, goddamn minute.

“I’m kicking you out of the Virtuous,” Gakushuu types to Araki in their inappropriately named group chat.

“:(”, replies Araki.

“That’s unfair,” Seo types.

Ren changes “Karushuu support group” to “Araki support group”.

Koyama changes “Araki support group” to “Araki worship group.”

“:)”, replies Araki.

“I hate you all,” Gakushuu tells them.

“No you don’t,” Ren types, “you love us.”

“<3”, replies Araki.

“Why are you frowning at your phone like that?” His father asks, taking a delicate sip of his water, “is it Akabane?”

“Akabane and I don’t text,” Gakushuu scowls at him.

“Ah, of course,” Gakuhou says.

“What’s wrong with you?” Gakushuu demands.

“Is it so wrong to start taking an interest in my son’s relationships?” Gakuhou raises an eyebrow.

“Don’t say it that way,” Gakushuu glares, “and yes, it’s weird. You’re being unnecessarily creepy as of late.”

“What a mean thing to say to your own father,” Gakuhou sighs dramatically.

“What a mean thing to do to your own son,” Gakushuu counters.

Gakuhou smiles at him. It’s an even weirder smile. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I kind of planned out the ending already, oops ;) how do you think this would all go down?


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's a longer chapter. More plot development!!

Akabane is acting weird. Ren shoots him a suspicious look when he makes an offhand comment about it.

Gakushuu shouldn’t be bothered by it, but he is. 

Akabane makes a half-hearted attempt to reach for Gakushuu’s pork cutlet, but doesn’t try again when Gakushuu moves it out of his reach, and doesn’t kick him in the face when Gakushuu untied his shoe. Which was. Concerning.

Akabane is an annoying little shit, Gakushuu thinks, but. 

“Hey,” he says, when the bell rings and Akabane is distracted with his phone.

“What?” Akabane looks up, brows furrowed.

Gakushuu wordlessly reaches over to tug lightly on Akabane’s left hand and pull it away from his phone, then drags the boy out of class. He knows what goes on on social media and the several posts that would no doubt be popping up on the Karashuu tag, but it was always more beneficial than detrimental to make himself a part of the common population that someone could relate to, and he felt the posts made him seem much more approachable. 

Akabane’s letting himself get pulled along, uncharacteristically silent. Gakushuu moves to lets go once they pass the school gates, but Akabane squeezes harder.

Gakushuu doesn’t ask. They walk like that, in the correct direction towards Akabane’s place this time, Akabane still tightly gripping onto his hand and Gakushuu lightly swinging their arms. 

“My parents are home,” Akabane says.

“Oh?” Gakushuu says, “where did they go?”

“You’re not too dense to miss that my house is empty the last time you passed by,” Akabane says, “they’re overseas for work, most of the time, so I barely see them. They came back this morning.”

Gakushuu wonders if Akabane’s relationship with his parents is like with him and his father. Then he dismisses the thought - the unconventional relationship between Asano Senior and Junior is far too strange for it to be anywhere close. He guesses they don’t have the best of familial ties, though.

“Do you want to go home?” Gakushuu asks.

“Not particularly,” Akabane says, “not yet, anyways. Want to go to the park? I want to play on the swings.”

“I’m not pushing you,” Gakushuu immediately tells him.

Akabane laughs for the first time that day, loud and unbidden. Is it weird if the first thought Gakushuu had was that he kind of missed it?

\--

“You should invite Akabane over,” Gakuhou says one day, when they’re both in the kitchen and Gakushuu is pouring himself a glass of water.

“I’m sorry?” Gakushuu says. 

“Apology accepted,” his father drawls.

“No, what? You want Akabane, Karma Akabane, to come over?” Gakushuu gapes. His father is strange and has dubious reasonings behind his actions but he is by far a predictable man, that is to say, up till now. “Karma Akabane? Red hair, rowdy delinquent, put wasabi in my green tea that one time Karma Akabane?”

“How many Karma Akabanes do you know?” Asano Senior says. 

“B-but, why?” Gakushuu splutters, eyes wide.

Gakuhou shrugs, smirking to himself. 

“No, I mean, what?” Gakushuu repeats.

Gakuhou raises an eyebrow, sitting back and smiling, evidently enjoying himself. “Invite Akabane over,” Gakuhou repeats, “you two are friends, no? You went over to his house already.”

“I just walked him home one time,” Gakushuu insists, “god, you’re acting so much weirder than normal. You sure you’re not coming down with dementia? A stroke? You and Ren, seriously.”

“Oh?” His father looks genuinely curious, “what did Sakakibara say?”

Gakushuu glares at him, slams the glass down, and stalks upstairs.

\--

On a very rare day that Kayano/Yukimura has free, Karma gets on the train and takes it downtown to meet up with her and Nagisa at some hipster cafe whose name is too weird for Karma to want to remember.

“You’re looking good,” Karma comments.

“I’m on five vitamins and daily facials,” Kayano sighs, “I kinda miss 3-E. I could get dirty and go without combing my hair for an hour.”

Kayano’s hair is let down now, and jet black. It suits her, but Karma still finds it pretty weird.

Like Nagisa’s hair. Years of seeing that kid with a ponytail or two and suddenly it’s cropped short? Too unbelievable.

“You got a boyfriend, Kayano?” Karma asks, “an actor, maybe?”

Nagisa kicks him under the table. Karma kicks him back.

“Nope,” Kayano says, “I honestly don’t think I can find someone I can relate to in the industry. Yes, we’re all in the same profession, but that year in 3-E was life-changing and put me on a way different spectrum from everyone else.”

“So what you’re saying is,” Karma says, “you need someone with shared life experience?”

Nagisa kicks him, harder.

“Dating an assassin would be pretty weird,” Kayano muses.

“I never thought finding assassins would be this simple,” Nagisa says, obviously keen to change the subject, “I thought you had to go to the dark web and maybe sell a kidney or two.”

“Now I could just give anyone I know a call,” Kayano agrees, “or do the dirty work myself, if so calls for it.” She winks.

Nagisa blushes a bit. Karma kicks him.

“I wonder what happened to Irina-sensei,” Nagisa says a little too loudly, “last I heard Karasuma-sensei had managed to coax her over to become a government agent, like he is.”

“Do you think they’re dating?” Karma asks.

“I don’t know, seems like it?” Kayano says, “we’ll, I bet they’re still seeing each other around, even if it’s just for work. Maybe Irina-sensei would finally manage to seduce him.”

“Speaking of seeing someone around,” Nagisa says, and Karma thinks he knows where this is going. “How’s Asano?”

“Oh?” Kayano’s eyes light up. “You two look like you’re having fun.”

“He’s not terrible,” Karma says, “he has an eternal stick up his ass but he’s pretty okay to have around, I guess.”

“You two friends now?” Kayano asks.

“I don’t know. Maybe?” Karma shrugs, “don’t like to put labels on things.”

“Labels on things,” Nagisa echoes. Kayano giggles.

“He’s the reason I joined Kunugigaoka High, actually,” Karma says, not missing his friends’ expressions, “I don’t think I’d get an academic challenge quite like he is anywhere else.”

“I’m sure,” Nagisa drawls.

Karma kicks him. Nagisa kicks back. “What are you two doing under there?” Kayano says.


	8. Chapter 8

Karma didn’t hate his parents, per say, but he would admit he resented them, at least a little. They made the very old faux-sentimental gushings of wanting to stay and promises to return home for longer than a month next time when Karma saw them off at the airport at 9 at night.

The first person he usually calls is Nagisa, to finally rant and go on and on about morally ambiguous parenting strategies and whatever the heck he was supposed to do with 23 souvenir keychains from different cities in Europe.

The first person he actually calls this time, for some reason Karma can’t fathom, is Asano.

Asano picks up on the second ring. “Yes?”

“Hey,” Karma says, “what are you doing?”

“Studying,” comes the incredibly expected answer, “why are you calling? I said this number is for emergencies only. I’m not bailing you out of jail.”

“I won’t go to jail yet, I’d go to juvie,” Karma replies, “I’m bored. Maybe I wanted to hear your wonderful, wonderful voice.”

“Uh huh,” Asano says skeptically, and there’s the sound of flipping pages over the phone. “Our end-of-semesters are next Monday, you know-”

“Just saw my parents off at the airport,” Karma says.

“Oh,” Asano says, pauses. Then, “you okay?”

“Yeah, just,” Karma takes a deep breath. He steps out into the cool air and buries a hand in his pockets. “I don’t know. It’s weird.”

Asano is uncharacteristically silent. There’s something that sounds like a book being put down on a table.

“You could come over, if you wanted,” Asano says uncertainly, “you know, to study.” “If you don’t want to go back to an empty house” is unsaid, but Karma really appreciates the sentiment.

“What, like right now?” He jokes.

“No, tomorrow!” Asano immediately says, “unless… you want to come over now? It’s pretty late, but we don’t have school tomorrow, anyways, I mean.”

“What, are we having a sleepover?” Karma says.

“...That’s kind of weird, isn’t it?” Asano admits, sounding a little sheepish, "Nevermind."

“No,” Karma tacks on to the idea, abruptly struck with the realization that it’s a better option than going home alone today, “no, why not? Text me your address.”

“...Okay,” Asano says skeptically, “text me back when you’re at the gates then, I’ll buzz you in.”

“Fancy,” Karma remarks.

“Your house is as big as mine, shut up,” Asano says.

\--

“-bring your own goddamn toiletries then, you heathen,” Gakushuu says, “that’s disgusting!”

He pads down the stairs and ends the call, grimacing about Akabane’s suggestion on wasabi in his toothpaste (seriously, what was with that boy and wasabi anyways?), and sees his father sitting in the living room, staring up curiously.

“Are we expecting someone?” Gakuhou asks.

Gakushuu doesn’t reply. He knows that Gakuhou already knows.

“Is it Ren?” Gakuhou asks.

Gakushuu stares, deadpan.

“...is it Akabane?” Gakuhou asks again, in the same tone that he used to ask Gakushuu who broke the lamp were when he clearly knew who did it.

Gakushuu stares unblinkingly. His phone buzzes in his hand, and he ignores it.

“Hm,” his father turns back to his laptop, types a few words in, then looks up again. “Interesting. What was the conversation we had the other time? A certain someone never coming over?”

Gakushuu refuses to feel embarrassed.

“I meant as a study date or for dinner perhaps, but kids these days sure move fast,” Gakuhou muses, ”you know, when I was your age-”

“Please stop talking,” Gakushuu groans. His phone buzzes again. He has no clue what his father is going on about but judging by the glint in Asano Senior’s eye, he’s not sure if he wants to.

Gakuhou smiles, then turns back to his work. Gakushuu’s phone buzzes again.

It’s a selfie from Akabane in the back of a cab, a bag slung over his shoulder. “5 minutes!” The caption screams, annoyingly cheerful. Gakushuu scowls.

When he looks back up his father is staring at him again, expression unreadable.

Gakushuu deigns to wait outside. His father is weirding him out.

The cab is obnoxiously yellow and reminds Gakushuu a little bit about 3-E’s octopus teacher. Akabane’s hair is obnoxiously red and reminds Gakushuu a little bit about, well, Akabane.

“Hey, miss me?” Akabane says, “oh my god, are those little baby seals?”

Gakushuu looks down at his pants, and blushes. “They’re my pyjamas,” he defends. At least he wasn’t wearing the matching shirt.

“They’re adorable,” Akabane coos, then ducks to avoid a punch.

“Shut up,” Gakushuu says, “my father’s in the living room, by the way. Please don’t start a fight with him.”

“I’m the best behaved child in the history of Kunugigaoka,” Akabane says, then dodges another punch. 

Gakuhou is still sitting in the living room when Gakushuu returns, looking up in interest.

“Hi, Asano Senior,” Karma waves.

“Hello, Akabane,” Gakuhou says, a little too cheerfully. Gakushuu is seriously creeped out.

“Yeah, no, we’re not doing this,” he says, and instantly grabs Karma’s hand to pull him up the stairs. He thinks he sees his father raise an eyebrow and would probably lead to a lot more vague questions and cryptic looks in the coming days, but Akabane and Gakuhou interacting is not something Gakushuu wants to bear witness to nor the consequences of.

“Your dad seems nice,” Akabane says, obviously teasing.

Gakushuu ignores it. “Your guest room is second door on the right down the hall, and the toilets are-”

“No!” Akabane immediately yells, “Asano! A guest room? Where’s the fun in that? Let me camp in your room. We can share the bed!”

“Are you insane?” Gakushuu yells back, “there’s no way I’m sharing a bed with you, pest!” 

“I know,” Akabane says smugly, “which is why I brought a sleeping bag. Come on, your room. Lead the way.”

Gakushuu stares. His patience is running thin with the antics of two incredibly ridiculous idiots in his house today. What was he thinking, inviting Akabane over? 

He clearly wasn’t, that’s for sure.

“You know, I can just open every door until I get the right one,” Akabane says.

“Last room down the hall,” Gakushuu crosses his arms.

Akabane grins at him, and laughs as he avoids a kick.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> UhmM I was undoubtedly, unmistakably high when i wrote this chapter? Can you tell???  
> Plot plot plot! Spam my inbox!  
> Give me fic ideas!!!


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welcome, fellow hardcore weebs and newcomer fandom-ers alike!

Karma is touched by Asano’s invitation, even if it’s kind of weird, and Asano is being a little awkward about it. 

“I can’t believe you have a Queen,” Karma says. 

Asano’s clearly unused to having someone in his space. He’s cross-legged on his bed and rigid. Karma wonders what his reaction would be if he jumped on the bed right now, then decides to sit on the floor.

“We should play a game,” Karma says, “I bought a bunch of cards. You know how to play Go Fish? Can we play with two people?”

“You should take a shower,” Asano suggests, “bathroom’s the other end of the hall. There’s a guest bag under the sink. Don’t you dare put wasabi on anything.”

“Almost forgot about that until you reminded me,” Karma teases, and Asano looks vaguely haunted.

When he gets back with his hair smelling like strawberries, Asano’s lying back on the bed and typing on the laptop, looking much more at ease, but he sits up when Karma walks in. 

“We could play truth or dare?” Karma suggests.

Asano snorts. “That’s childish.”

Karma thinks for a moment, then smirks. “You’re just afraid of revealing your deepest darkest secrets, I bet. Or you think that whatever dare I come up with would be too much for you?”

Asano narrows his eyes, and Karma crows with delight at how easy he is to bait. 

“Fine,” Asano says, and he sets his laptop aside. “Let’s play. But some ground rules. Nothing involving other people, or that would ruin my reputation.”

“So nothing publicly embarrassing,” Karma thinks, “what about privately embarrassing?”

Asano considers that for a bit, then says, “I’d allow that.”

“Because the rules go both ways?” Karma guesses.

Asano raises an eyebrow.

“Awesome,” Karma rubs his hands together which makes Asano look distinctly worried. “Alright, me first. I dare you to… let me come onto the bed.”

Asano tilts his head. “That’s weak, Akabane. Never said you couldn’t come up, just said you’re not sleeping here.”

“Aww,” Karma pouts, “doesn’t count then. I want a re-dare.”

“Nope,” Asano says, “my turn. I dare you to go for fifteen minutes without talking.”

Karma laughs, and digs in his bag for a pad of paper and a pen. Asano looks distinctly unimpressed.

Karma gets onto the bed and sits across Asano, then scribbles, “I dare you to stop talking too, then.”

Asano looks even more unimpressed. He does hand gestures that what Karma can only assume is sign language, then looks like he’s personally inconvenienced when Karma shrugs. Why would he know sign language? Why does Asano know sign language, for that matter?

Karma hands him the notepad. Asano writes, “I dare you to surrender all the wasabi you have in your bag right now.”

Karma pouts, but he digs it all out. An entire pack he bought just for the occasion. He gets the notepad and writes, “I dare you to touch the ceiling.”

Asano gives him an expression that embodies the sentiment of “what the fuck?”

Karma gives him a universal hand sign that no one needs sign language to understand, and dodges the pen thrown at him. But the blonde gets up to his feet gingerly and stands on the best, crossing his arms. The ceiling is really high and is probably two and a half Asanos tall, which means there’s about one Asano distance between the ceiling and the top of Asano, which, is a awful unit of measurement. 

But Karma would get to see Asano jump on his bed, so that’s good enough. 

Asano looks at him and Karma doesn’t need written words to understand “you too, bitch, get up.” 

Karma gets up, and grins. Asano crosses his arms and glares.

Karma holds up 3 fingers, then 2, then 1, then he jumps. He misses the ceiling by a good one Asano-head. 

Asano jumps next, and is marginally better, but no where close.

Why does Asano have a bedroom with such a goddamn tall ceiling? 

\--

Gakushuu had no words. Absolutely none.

And it wasn’t because of that no speaking dare, too.

Gakushuu opens his mouth, and Akabane elbows him on the side. Gakushuu scowls.

At the doorway, his father paused mid-step, eyebrows furrowed and looking extremely confused, an expression Gakushuu had not seen on him since he was 7.

“And you broke the bed, how, exactly,” Gakuhou says.

Gakushuu opens his mouth again. Akabane steps on his foot. Gakushuu kicks him in the side.

His father looks pained, but in the sort of way where you were pained trying too hard not to laugh. Gakushuu stares at him and lifts his chin, daring him to say anything.

“Alright,” Gakuhou says, and yep, that’s a laugh he’s definitely trying to hide. “I suppose you two will have to move to one of the guest rooms for tonight.”

Akabane is already gathering up Gakushuu’s pillows, grinning. 

“Is fifteen minutes over yet?” Akabane writes on the notepad, bouncing on the guest bed, Gakushuu leaning against the headboard. 

Gakushuu glares again. “Bitch,” he mouths.  

Akabane gives him a smile that reads “aw, come on,” and nudges his foot playfully against Gakushuu’s knee. He takes the notepad and writes, “I dare you to lift the no talking ban.”

Gakushuu rolls his eyes, and tries to project a destructive aura towards him. It doesn’t work, unfortunately, and Akabane stretches out and says, “did you see the look on your dad’s face? He looked like he couldn’t decide between laughing and crying. Oh, and your ban is lifted, too.”

“I know that,” Gakushuu mutters, “jumping on the bed? Really? Are you a pre-schooler?”

“Yep, but you already know that,” Akabane says. “So what will it be? What shall I do next to appease you, your royal highness?”

“I should dare you to call me that for the rest of the school year,” Gakushuu muses, “but no. Tell me, what really happened in Class 3-E?”

Akabane looks up, surprised.

“Truth or dare, right? We’ve only done dares so far. Are you backing out?” Gakushuu tilts his chin challengingly.

“No,” Akabane yawns, “I’m so tired, though. We should sleep.”

“Oi, come on,” Gakushuu frowns.

“Sleep!” Akabane says. He flops face down on the bed.

Gakushuu frowns. Akabane rolls over and stares up at him. 

“You’re sleeping on the floor, remember?” Gakushuu reminds. 

“My sleeping bag has pieces of your bed left on it,” Akabane complains.

“And whose fault is that?” Gakushuu says.

Akabane groans, and rolls over until he hits the floor, dragging the sheets off the bed with him. 

“Hey!” Gakushuu says.

“You should come down here too,” Akabane’s voice sounds muffled, “there’s plenty of room. I’ll tell you the story of 3-E, how about that?”

Gakushuu slides off the bed and sits next to the lump of sheets he assumes is Akabane. “Well?” He demands.

Akabane sits up. His hair is messy and he does look a little sleepy. “A truth is a truth,” he shrugs.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hmmmm if I write something else what should I go for?  
> (Spoiler alert: I was super bored and procrastinated my life to finish this entire fic so yes, I pretty much have this point till the ending written out but not proofed/organized pretty well yet, and I'm still revising the plot based off your reaction/comments but I can start posting in larger chunks after this!)
> 
> On a non-related side-note, my computer autocorrected "challengingly" to "enchantingly" in that sentence where Gakushuu dares Karma to tell him about 3-E and it's nice to see that Word ships them too.


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys, sorry if you were expecting an update yesterday, I wasn't feeling too well :( but have a long-ass chapter today instead!

Karma tells him everything.

Somewhere between the story about Bitch-sensei’s debut appearance and the appearance of her own sensei, Karma lies down next to Asano’s knee. 

Asano slides down when he’s describing Nagisa’s “special move” and his second blade.

“Akari Yukimara? That actor? She was Kaede Kayano?” Asano asks.

“Yeah,” Karma laughs a little, “fooled you too, didn’t she? She really deserves an Oscar.”

“Isn’t she shooting that action movie right now? Something… fire something?” Asano looks impressed, which is new.  

“Doing all her own stunts, too,” Karma tells him, “we all got invited to her premiere.”

Asano hums. “What happened next?”

Karma tells him. The fundraising competition, finals, the play they put on with Koro-sensei 3-A. 

Graduation day.

“I remember that,” Asano says softly, looking at the ceiling, “it was all over the news. Father was pacing around the living room. I saw the beam hit Kunugigaoka.”

“Kind of crazy, isn’t it?” Karma says, “so many things happened to us in such a short period of time and the rest of the world went on as always. You were right next to us and you didn’t even know. Imagine if we got any transfers from the main building during that time.”

“You know,” Asano laughs a little, “that reminds me. 3-A wanted to transfer to E-Class, after seeing you all beat us at finals.”

“Oh?” Karma says, intrigued, “how did the principal take it?”

“He slapped me across the face in front of everyone in 3-A,” Asano smiles, looking far too reminiscent about being slapped by his father, “I think it was the only time he laid a hand on me. He always believed using his words as weapons, he must have hit his breaking point to start to use his fists. Remember when I asked you to assassinate his teaching ideology?”

“Fun word choice,” Karma commented.

Asano smirks a little, then says, “I think you all did it. He used to teach at the old 3-E building, you know? Run a cram-school, before he started Kunugigaoka.”

“Did he?” Karma says.

“Not that he told me,” Asano shrugs, “I dug out the pictures.”

“He tried to run it down,” Karma says.

“We’re never one for sentimentalities,” Asano shrugs.

“Maybe not him, but you are,” Karma corrects, and Asano turns to look at him with questioning eyes. 

“Remember our first year in Middle School? I was in 1-A too. I stabbed you with one of my pocket knives when we got into a fight on the first week. I saw it on your nightstand.”

Karma doesn’t expect Asano to blush, but this entire situation is way too far out of the ordinary. 

“Your definition of sentimentalities is twisted,” Asano mutters, huffing. It’s kind of cute, Karma thinks offhandedly.

“Anyways,” Asano continues, “I kept it because I’ve always wanted to stab you back with it.”

“Oh?” Karma laughs, “you never did.”

“I can’t stab a classmate,” Asano tells him, affronted, “I’m the Student Council President.”

“And your dad would’ve killed you,” Karma reminds.

Asano huffs, again.

“Truth or dare?” Karma asks.

Asano blinks. “Truth, I guess. I’m tired.”

“Yeah, okay,” Karma says, then, “Am I your friend, Asano?”

Asano stares. Karma shrugs, “I can’t be held accountable for the things I say after 1 am, alright? I lose all inhibition.”

Asano smiles. It’s not his creepy faux-polite smile, or his exasperated what-did-I-do-to-deserve-this smile. It’s genuine and warm.

“Yeah, you are, idiot,” Asano says.

“Oh,” Karma blinks, “well, you’re my friend too. Call me Karma.”

“Call me Gakushuu, then,” Gakushuu says.

Karma grins at him. “Nights.”

“Goodnight, Karma,” Gakushuu rolls his eyes.

\--

Karma wakes up to a staring contest between both Asanos above his head.

“What?” He says.

Gakuhou’s gaze briefly flickers to him, then continues to hold his son’s stare. Gakushuu reaches over to slap him lightly on the face.

“My son, Gakushuu Asano, never sleeps in,” Gakuhou says, looking incredibly pleased with himself, “so I decided to come check up on you two, only to find out that you decided to sleep together on the floor, ignoring the perfectly good bed that Asano picked out.”

Karma raises an eyebrow at Gakuhou addressing his son by their last name. Gakushuu looks flustered, and he continues staring.

“Maybe I don’t like the beds anymore,” Gakushuu says, crossing his arms like he just hadn’t made the world’s most absurd argument.

“Redecorating already?” Gakuhou counters, matching his son’s knife-like smile, “well, I suppose since you have to replace one bed, might as well change them all to match, right?”

Gakushuu flushes. “The wallpaper too,” he demands, “I’m going with a maroon theme this time. We’ll recarpet the halls. And your study.”

Gakuhou narrows his eyes for a fraction of a second, and then smiles again. “Sure, whatever you want,” he humors. “Always got an eye for interior decorating, this one,” he says with a tilt of his head, addressing Karma.

“Really?” Karma says, “did he design this whole house?”

Gakushuu elbows him hard in the side. This situation reminds him a bit of their handshake stalemates, and he thinks he knows what Sakakibara feels like, just a little.

“Yes, indeed,” Gakuhou says, still not breaking his stare. If Karma didn’t know any better, he would say that the ex-principal sounded mischievous. “He picked out the colours when we repainted the school a year ago, too.”

“No wonder it looks hideous,” Karma says. Gakushuu elbows him, harder.

“You have a meeting today,” Gakushuu says, “shouldn’t you get going?”

“Ah yes, of course, would you look at the time,” Gakuhou says, “well, it was nice meeting you, Akabane.”

“Did you really decorate this entire house?” Karma asks, once Gakuhou had disappeared and Gakushuu had slumped back onto the floor.

“Colour schemes, furniture, stuff like that,” Gakushuu says. He sounds embarrassed.

“That’s honestly pretty cool,” Karma admits, “what do you do with the furniture after you, ah, redecorate?”

“Donate it, mostly,” Gakushuu says, “or sell it secondhand, if it’s expensive enough.”

“If you did the house, why does your room look so ugly?” Karma asks.

Gakushuu shoots him a look. “The house looks like it came out of a magazine,” he sniffs.

“It does,” Karma agrees, “oh.”

“Yeah, oh,” Gakushuu says, “my room’s not ugly, okay? It’s just different. Maybe I don’t want it to look like the office lounge of a Fortune 400 Company.”

“Fair,” Karma shrugs, “hey, wanna redecorate my house?”

“Go die, Karma,” Gakushuu replies.

\--

“I don’t know, okay, it’s weird,” Karma says to Rukiyo one day, sitting on the bleachers after school to watch the basketball team have a practice match. It’s not particularly interesting, but there’s nothing for Karma to do at his house and Gakushuu looks kind of cool.

Not that he would ever tell him that, of course. Gakushuu’s ego is big enough as it is.

“Oh?” Rukiyo leans forward accusingly, “come on, delinquent. Spill the deets.”

“We’re friends, I guess,” Karma shrugs, “and rivals, and whatever. I don’t think our relationship needs labels.”

Rukiyo blinks, then looks conflicted.

“What are we doing?” Kabaya asks, walking over, “are we bothering Karma about Asano?”

“Gakushuu~” Rukiyo sings, “they’re on a first name basis now, apparently. Heard it from Misaki who heard them talking before class.”

“Now this I have to hear,” Kabaya says excitedly, “what happened during the weekend, man? Did you guys have some big revelation or something? Did you hold his hand and talk about girls?”

“No,” Karma says, “he still won’t talk about girls with me.”

“I wonder why,” Rukiyo hums.

Kabaya shoots Rukiyo an indecipherable look, and she sticks her tongue out at him.

Over at the court, Gakushuu scores a slam dunk. Rukiyo cheers. He glances over at them and smiles a little, then turns away to wipe his sweat with the bottom of his shirt.

“Hot,” Rukiyo comments.

Karma blinks. He didn’t consider Gakushuu having abs but with how physically fit he was it made sense, he supposed.

“You’re staring,” Kabaya whispers into his ear.

“No I’m not,” Karma hisses back.

“I am,” Rukiyo says, “I don’t care what you think, I can look at the ice cream someone else ordered even if I don’t get to lick it.”

Kabaya makes a face.

“The fuck does that mean?” Karma says.

“My poor, oblivious child,” Rukiyo sighs.

\--

End-of-semesters are surprisingly uneventful. Karma supposes that after one entire year of action and assassination and trying to murder your teacher, regular exams in a regular school setting would be particularly dry.

Karma sails through, as usual. Gakushuu looks particularly smug.

“Get ready to lose,” Karma crows.

“Prepare to go down,” Gakushuu taunts.

“As least they’re not doing that weird handshake thing this time,” Ren mutters to Araki as they pass by the duo in a staring match, Gakushuu with his arms crossed and Karma with two thumbs down signs.

When the results come out, Karma cheers. Asano looks horrified.

“Bite me, Second Place!” Karma yells, “once a loser, always a loser!”

The outburst gathers the attention of everyone in the hall, who gapes. Gakushuu flushes hard. “One mark, Karma Akabane,” he hisses.

“One mark too many,” Karma taunts.

“Double or nothing,” Gakushuu says.

“Sore loser,” Karma says.

“Coward,” Gakushuu counters.

“Fine,” Karma says, “double or nothing. Next semester’s midterms.”

“Deal,” Gakushuu says. He’s the first to extend a hand this time, and Karma takes it.

“Oh come on,” Ren groans, “seriously? Again?”

Click, goes someone’s phone camera.

\--

The short holiday sees Gakushuu attending to his extracurriculars and his father’s increasingly weird demands.  

He doesn’t foresee having to deal with Karma, but things happen, he supposes. Karma comes over unannounced one weekday and insults the maroon decals on the wall, and stays over a night.

The Virtuous come over the next.

“You redecorated,” Seo says, impressed, “wanted to piss your dad off again?”

“Yeah, kinda,” Gakushuu shrugs.

“Why is there wasabi in your coffee beans?” Ren asks, from the kitchen. “You’re lucky I looked before I poured it in.”

“Dammit, Karma,” Gakushuu snaps, instinctively.

There’s a silence. Seo, Araki, and Koyama pause in their conversation. Ren walks into the living room and looks at him intensely.

“How many times has Akabane been over?” Ren asks.

“...Twice,” Gakushuu admits.

“And you didn’t think of telling us, why?” Ren raises an eyebrow.

“Why would i need to tell you?” Gakushuu snaps, then immediately regrets it. Ren looks hurt.

Gakushuu winces.

“He slept over, too,” Gakushuu offers. He’s not one for apologizing, but giving up information willingly was as much of a peace offering as anything.

“Seriously?” Seo says, “which of our guests rooms did you give him?”

Gakushuu crosses his arms.

“Oh my god,” Ren says, immediately understanding.

“Don’t say it,” Gakushuu warns.

“You guys slept in the same goddamn room,” Ren accuses, “Gakushuu, really? I’m disappointed.”

“Does he know about your weird interior decorating kink?” Koyama asks.

“Don’t say kink,” Gakushuu frowns at him, “but yes. Father told him.”

“Gakuhou and Akabane becoming friends, imagine that,” Araki says.

Gakushuu makes a face.

“Why did you decorate this time?’ Seo asks, “you usually do it after a major event in your life. Is Akabane sleeping over a major event?”

Gakushuu weighs the options between telling them the truth and not, before remembering Karma had a big mouth and a desire to undermine his reputation 24/7, so he settles with a half truth. “It’s because we broke my bed,” he admits.

Ren sputters and spills his drink over himself. Araki is by his side in minutes, patting his back. Koyama chokes on a peanut.

“You two did what?” Seo yells.

“...Jumped on the bed,” Gakushuu admits.

“Oh thank god,” Ren says, looking relieved.

“What?” Gakushuu demands.

“Nothing,” Araki says.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> :)


	11. Chapter 11

“Gakushuu!” Karma says. He sticks a hand out.

Gakushuu looks at him, then places an empty plastic bottle in his hand.

Karma sticks the other hand out.

“No,” Gakushuu frowns. 

“Come on, it’s been a month,” Karma says.

“We can up it to more than a month,” Gakushuu rolls his eyes, more playful than annoyed. “Why do you keep doing this?”

Karma grins at him. 

“I have a student council meeting today,” Gakushuu says.

“You’re in the council already?” Karma raises an eyebrow. Applications didn’t start till later in the year, did they?

“Not yet,” Gakushuu says, “but I know this school better than anyone.”

“Humble,” Karma comments.

Gakushuu gives him a smile that’s all teeth, and it might look charming but there’s an underlying threatening vibe. Karma grins, too. His teeth are sharper.

Sakakibara approaches Karma in the halls, looking confused and angry. He stands in front of Karma and crosses his arms, and glares.

“Cat got your tongue?” Karma asks, leaning against the locker, after a full minute of Sakakibara anger-confusion silence.

“What are… your… motives?” Sakakibara spits out.

“My what? Motives?” Karma raises an eyebrow.

“Yes,” he says, crossing his arms, “what are you planning to do with him?”

“Well,” Karma thinks for a bit, “once I win the bet, maybe I’ll get one of those little maid costumes for him to wear. Sounds cute, no?” 

Sakakibara chokes on nothing. “What?” He says, hoarsely, “bet?”

“Gakushuu didn’t tell you?” Karma cocks his head inquisitively, “whoever who gets the higher score for next semester’s mid-terms will get to make the loser do anything they want.” He grins, for actual measure.

“Oh my god,” Sakakibara looks pale, “what the fuck?”

“Except now it’s two things,” Karma raises 2 fingers, “because he challenged with a double-or-nothing after seeing this semester’s results.”

Sakakibara pauses, stares at him angrily-confusingly-consideringly, then he finally says, “you’re just like him,” in a tone that makes it sound like he discovered some secret to the universe, or something.

“What?” Karma says, “what are you talking about?”

“No, nothing,” Sakakibara stares, then laughs a little hysterically to himself, “I still don’t like this, but we’ll see.”

“You mean Gakushuu?” Karma says, “I’m way smarter than him.”

Sakakibara laughs, and shakes his head. “No, you’re really not.”

“What does that mean?” Karma calls, as Sakakibara turns to walk away. “Hey!’

Sakakibara shrugs. Karma frowns at his back.

\--

“Are you and Akabane friends?” Fujisaki asks.

“How is this related to Math?” Gakushuu says.

“It’s not,” Fujisaki yawns, “Math is boring. Karashuu is much interesting.”

Gakushuu frowns. “You’re falling behind your class. This tuition isn’t a gossiping session.”

“Aw, come on, teach,” Fujisaki groans, “a little teeny break? We’ve been staring at this book for an hour.”

Gakushuu looks at the clock, then nods. “Alright then.”

Fujisaki grins. She leans back on the chair and says, “well? Tell me about Karma Akabane.”

“There’s nothing to tell,” Gakushuu shrugs, “he’s loud, annoying, and a trouble-making delinquent. Don’t know why he keeps bothering me.”

“Sure,” Fujisaki’s eyes gleam, “but you two are… close? Yes?”

“Wouldn’t say that,” Gakushuu mumbles, arranging the pens and papers on the table.

“What would you say?” Fujisaki asks.

“We’re rivals,” Gakushuu grins at her. She groans theatrically. 

\--

Gakushuu doesn’t think he’s asking for too much. 

Is he? No, he really isn’t. All he wants is some peace and quiet and alone time, and to go to sleep.

“Do you think cacti have feelings?” Karma asks.

“Please shut up,” Gakushuu says.

Gakushuu can’t see in the dark but he thinks Karma grins annoyingly at him. “Make me,” Karma says.

“I’m so tired,” Gakushuu whispers.

“Then you shouldn’t have let me drink all that soda,” Karma whispers back.

“I didn’t,” Gakushuu glares at the ceiling, “I said, Karma, don’t drink all that soda. And you said, fuck off, and drank all that soda.”

Karma laughs. “Deal with the consequences.”

“I’m kicking you out,” Gakushuu says.

“No you’re not,” Karma says. He rolls and turns and lays over Gakushuu’s stomach, pinning him down to the bed.

Gakushuu yawns. Karma yawns, too.

“Goodnight, Karma, Go to sleep,” Gakushuu says. The weight of one annoying redhead over him is oddly comforting. He closes his eyes again.

“Psst,” says a very annoying voice.

Gakushuu tries to ignore it.

“Do you think caterpillars know what they’re doing when they build their cocoon, or do they just know that they have to do it?”

Gakushuu groans.

“Do you think they get a message from someone saying build a cocoon? Do you think there’s like a caterpillar hive mind or a caterpillar god telling them what to do? What would caterpillar religion be like?”

Gakushuu slaps Karma. “Get off me. I’m leaving if you won’t.”

“Spoilsport,” Karma says, stretching out.

Gakushuu twists and squirms out, glares at Karma, then pads over to another room. It’s the guest room that Araki usually sleeps in, and it’s blissfully empty and annoying-redhead-free. He flops face-down on the bed.

There are soft footsteps on the floor, then Karma comes in, dragging a blanket and a pillow. He throws himself next to Gakushuu.

“You’ll run out of guest rooms eventually,” Karma says to him.

Gakushuu groans, louder. 

Karma laughs, then curls up next to Gakushuu in his own blanket cocoon. Gakushuu briefly wonders if Karma would be like a caterpillar. He wonders what adult Karma would look like.

Maybe less murderous?

“Nights,” Karma says to him.

“Goodnight, asshole,” Gakushuu says.

Karma doesn’t say anything after that, awake but thankfully keeping quiet, and Gakushuu is lulled to sleep by soft breathing.

\--

“Hold on, you did what?!” Nagisa grabs the computer screen, over on his side, then Karma sees one large blue eye staring into the camera.

“Slept on his bed,” Karma says, “no big deal. Well, the same bed as he did, anyways, because I was too annoying and he moved to a guest room, but I followed him anyways.”

“No big deal?” Nagisa splutters, “how the hell did you manage that? Didn’t he make you sleep on the floor the other times?”

“I made a bet with him,” Karma says, “we did pushups.”

“Uh huh,” Nagisa says, eyebrow raised.

“I did one more than he did,” Karma grins, “so i got bed privileges.”

“You and Asano are way too competitive,” Nagisa mutters.

“So,” Karma says, “how’s Kayano?”

Nagisa groans. “I don’t know. I don’t know.”

“You ask her out yet?” Karma says.

“No! Geez, she’s busy with all her filming and her acting and stuff,” Nagisa mumbles.

“What? You want to wait until some hot actor guy snaps her up?” Karma says.

“No! No! Of course not,” Nagisa buries his face in his hands, “but, I mean, if someone better comes for her, then…”

Karma groans. “You’re hopeless.”

“Well so are you,” Nagisa sniffs.

“What does that mean?” He narrows his eyes.

“Nothing,” Nagisa looks shifty, then grins at him. 

“You’re weird,” Karma tells him.

Nagisa beams. “Thank you.”


	12. Chapter 12

Mid-terms are surprisingly easy, perhaps with what Karma and Gakushuu are studying in other to one-up one another, they both sail through.

Gakushuu sails through further than Karma does. One mark further, to be exact.

“Gloating is beneath you, Gakushuu Asano,” Karma says, deadpan.

“Of course it is,” Gakushuu tells him, looking and feeling way too smug, “well?”

“Finals, this year,” Karma says, eyes narrowed, “the difference for the three exams average out to zero. I obliged to your double or nothing.”

Gakushuu thinks for a bit. “Fine.”

Karma extends a hand. “Let’s shake on it.”

Gakushuu takes his hand.

“Oh my god,” says Kabaya, “Rukiyo, are you seeing this?”

“I am,” Sakikabara says, standing a bit aways, looking pained. 

“Oh, hi,” Kabaya greets, “Sakakibara, right? How much did you get?”

“494,” Sakikabara says, not breaking his gaze from whatever weird pact-cult thing Gakushuu and Karma were doing. “I came in fourth. You’re from 1-C, aren’t you?”

“Uh, yeah,” Kabaya says, “I got a 425.”

“I have a 378,” Rukiyo says, busy filming. 

“I can tutor both of you in any subjects if you want,” Sakakibara offers.

“Sure,” Kabaya shrugs.

“Hey look,” Karma says, cocking his head to motion to Sakakibara and Kabaya in conversation, “your friends are making friends with my friends.”

“Don’t say it like that, it’s weird,” Gakushuu wrinkles his nose.

“How long do you think they’re going to stay like that?” Rukiyo asks.

“I clocked them the last time at 4 minutes,” Sakikabara tells her.

\--

Their record is 28 minutes, but only because Karma refuses to let go for the entire walk back home. It’s awkward because the handshake hand-holding position is the opposite of walking hand-holding position, and Karma decides to resolve that by walking backwards the entire time. 

Gakushuu lets him walk backwards into a pole, just on principle. And because it was funny.

Except Karma didn’t let go when he fell, either, so they ended up as a bruised pile of idiots in the middle of the sidewalk.

Luckily it was far enough from Kunugigaoka that no one they knew saw them. Gakushuu doesn’t think he could take another Karma-related embarrassment. He still refuses to say Karushuu even in his head because what the fuck? That’s absolutely ridiculous. 

Karma makes himself home on Gakushuu’s huge maroon monstrosity that he had imported from Spain because of how hideous it was, and relished the look on his father’s face when he saw both the couch itself, and the bill. 

Strangely enough, Karma seems to like it. He claims that it’s large enough for two people to lie down from end-to-end, and that seemed at first like a valid enough benefit which Karma acknowledges but for some inexplicable reason, refuses to take advantage of.

Case in point: squeezing Gakushuu to one end of the couch, ignoring the whole Karma-sized shape and more left for him on the other side.

Gakuhou is stunned speechless for the third time this month, which honestly, Gakushuu considers a personal achievement. Maybe he should invite Karma over more often, after all.

“Hey, Asano Senior,” Karma waves, from where he’s practically lying on Gakushuu, engrossed on the movie playing on the television in the living room. Gakushuu isn’t really paying attention, he lost the plot somewhere in the first fifteen minutes but he’s most certain it’s about an apocalypse of some sort.

Zombie? Robot? Zombie Robots? Yellow tentacle teachers, maybe?

“...Hello, Akabane,” Gakuhou greets, sounding as very bit awkward as Gakushuu felt. His father stares at him and Gakushuu stares back from above the messy head of red hair that stubbornly refuses to move from his chest, lifting his chin defiantly and daring him to say anything.

“Am I dreaming?” His father says unnecessarily.

“No,” Gakushuu replies, glaring.

“Shut up and watch the movie,” Karma says softly to Gakushuu, because he may be a reckless delinquent but he’s still not suicidal enough to say that to Gakuhou’s face. 

“I haven’t been paying attention,” Gakushuu tells him, “I need to work on my report.”

“I know,” Karma says, sounding contented, “you can work on your report at night. We could watch a foreign movie after we’re done with this.”

“You don’t like foreign movies,” Gakushuu says.

“Not particularly,” Karma agrees, “but you do.”

Gakuhou makes a noise that Gakushuu has never heard from him before. It sounds partway between a squeak, a sob, a cough, and a choking cat. 

It’s startling enough that even Karma sits up to stare at him.

Gakuhou is standing even more awkwardly. “I’ll be going,” he says, “Asano, remember that the technician is coming at 9. you boys have… fun?”

“What the fuck,” Gakushuu says.

“Your dad’s weird,” Karma tells him.

\--

Karma’s parents are back.

Gakushuu knows because Karma is odd and shifty and has a new keychain on the large keyring full of keychains he carries around, claiming it stings bad when he slaps someone with it, and offering to test it out on Gakushuu, who respectfully declined.

Karma sits on his table for lunch and he’s eating something that smells exotic.

“India,” Karma says with his mouth full of food. “Spices. Good.”

“Chew, you heathen,” Gakushuu says.

Karma chews, swallows, then says, “want to try some?”

Gakushuu eyes the concoction in his bento box. It’s green, mushy, and smells a little like milk. 

“It’s called curd rice,” Karma says, when Gakushuu eyes him warily, “or something like that. It’s rice, and yogurt.”

“Rice and yogurt,” Gakushuu repeats.

Karma scoops up a glob of sticky mush and sticks the spoon in Gakushuu’s face.

It does not smell bad.

It does not taste bad, either.

“See?” Karma says, “good?”

“I thought you put wasabi in it,” Gakushuu says, “it’s green.”

“I don’t know what’s making it green, either,” Karma wrinkles his nose, “my mom picked it up from one of her colleagues when she was in India, apparently.”

“They came back yesterday?” Gakushuu asks.

Karma scoops another lump of yogurt rice and feeds himself a bite, then a second spoon to Gakushuu. “At 3am, last night,” Karma says, “my mom’s thinking of staying for two months, but my dad’s flying off in three weeks, to go to Guatemala City.”

“Where did they go this time?” Gakushuu asks. He takes another bite of weird rice. It’s pretty nice.

“Chennai,” Karma shrugs, “real estate, or something.”

Gakushuu hums. His own onigiri tastes sour, with Karma’s Indian food in his mouth.

“Gimmie,” Karma says. Gakushuu raises the onigiri, and Karma leans forward to take a bite out of it.

Click, goes Araki’s camera.

“Why?” Gakushuu sighs longsufferingly. Araki is the Karashuu tag’s biggest enabler, and the rest of the Virtuosos are doing nothing to discourage him. Threats of disassembling his camera have been futile, but of course, Gakushuu knows that Araki knows that Gakushuu would never touch that Canon that Araki carries around. It’s far too precious to him, a gift from his late grandfather.

Karma, mouth full of food, grins and throws up a peace sign. 

Click, goes Araki’s camera, again. Araki gives him a thumbs up.

“I hate you,” Gakushuu says.

Karma laughs. “You don’t,” he says.

“Wasn’t talking to you,” Gakushuu says, then adds as an afterthought, “but I do hate you, too.”

Araki grins at him.


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OMG GUYS you didn't tell me I missed a large part!!!   
> Did you ever wonder when Gakushuu/Karma started calling each other by their first names?? No??? Well I forgot to post one section of their sleepover but I edited it in so go check it out (I dumped it in the beginning of Chapter 10).  
> Also, plot plot plot!!

“Hot,” Rukiyo says.

“Hot,” Karma agrees. 

“Stop ogling them,” Kabaya says, settling down in between Karma and Rukiyo on the bleachers.

“I meant the weather,” Karma tells him.

“I didn’t,” Rukiyo says.

The basketball gets passed to Gakushuu, who shoots it effortlessly and aims a three-pointer. His shirt rides up a bit.

“Woohoo!” Rukiyo calls out, the same time as a couple of spectators scattered around the bleachers, “great aim, Asano!”

Gakushuu’s eyes searches the stands and lands on Rukiyo. He smiles at her, and gives her a two-fingered salute.

Karma frowns.

“What?” Kabaya nudges him. 

“Nothing,” Karma says. Rukiyo glares.

“My parents are back,” Karma says in explanation.

“Oh?” Kabaya says, “what?”

“They’re always overseas due to their job,” Karma shrugs, “they’re rarely at my house. Came back yesterday.”

“You’re not happy to see them?” Rukiyo asks.

“I don’t know. Not really,” Karma says, “it’s weird.”

“No, it’s not,” Kabaya says firmly, then elbows Rukiyo when she looks like she is about to say something. Rukiyo’s mouth snaps shut.

On the court, Sakakibara scores a hoop. Gakushuu hi-fives him.

Rukiyo’s gaze flickers from Sakakibara, to Gakushuu, to Karma, then to Kabaya.

She opens her mouth.

Kabaya elbows her, again.

Karma frowns at them. “Whatever you want to say, just say it.”

“Nothing,” Rukiyo says, “it’s nothing.”

“It’s clearly something,” Karma demands.

“I don’t have a crush on Asano,” she blurts. Kabaya sighs longsufferingly.

“Oh,” Karma blinks. That wasn’t what he was expecting.

“I mean, he is attractive,” Rukiyo shrugs with one shoulder, “but I don’t have a crush on him anymore. His friend, Sakakibara, is pretty cute.”

“Anymore?” Kabaya says.

“Well, yeah,” Rukiyo says, “back in middle school. He was a little shorter and we were all like, 13, but he still really cool and suave. He made boys doubt their sexuality, you know - don’t look at me like that, Kabaya! Back me up, Karma.”

“Um,” Karma says, “I don’t know. I was in 3-E, remember?”

“Come on,” Rukiyo says, “everyone had a crush on Asano at one point in school, no matter the class.”

Karma opens his mouth. Closes it.

What?

Well, it kind of made sense. Middle-school Gakushuu was pretty cool, for a 15 year old. Did Karma think he was cool? Not really, Karma mostly thought he was an asshole.

But, what?

Kabaya elbows Rukiyo, hard.

“Ow! I speak the truth, okay. Karma?” 

“Huh? What?” says Karma, bewildered.

“Oh my god, look what you did,” Kabaya complains, punching Rukiyo in the arm, “you broke him.”

“I made him see the truth,” Rukiyo insists.

\--

Karma’s sitting on the benches by the toilet when Gakushuu comes out, freshly showered.

“You waiting for me?” Gakushuu asks.

Karma hums. He taps out something on his phone, then pockets it, and sticks out his hand.

“My bag’s in my locker,” Gakushuu tells him.

“What, you can’t hold hands while going to the locker?” Karma demands. He’s a little snappier than usual.

Gakushuu frowns at him.

Karma scowls, then stuffs his hands in his pockets. He immediately stalks off.

Gakushuu blinks at Karma’s retreating back once, twice. He sprints to retrieve his bag from his locker, then runs in time to meet Karma at the school gate. 

“What’s up with you?” Gakushuu demands.

“Nothing,” Karma hisses, acidic. 

Gakushuu glared. “Well, if you want to be an angsty teen about whatever’s bothering you, fine. But don’t be a little bitch about it.”

Karma whips around, eyes narrowed. “Maybe you’re whats bothering me, Ah-san-o,” he snaps.

Gakushuu’s eyes widen for a fraction of a second, but he doesn’t want to take the brunt of whatever shitty mood Karma is on today. He briefly wonders if it’s about his parents, but quickly dismisses the concern. Who cares?

“Fine then,” Gakushuu says, “bye, Akabane.”

\--

“What’s up with you?” Gakuhou asks.

“Nothing,” Gakushuu mutters. 

Gakuhou stares. He takes a bite of chicken, and continues to stare.

“What?” Gakushuu snaps.

“I always know the difference between you being a whiny kid about something, and when something’s actually bothering you,” Gakuhou points out, and true as it is, Gakushuu hates it.  

“Well you have a great way of showing it,” Gakushuu mutters.

“You’ve always learnt dealt with your problems before,” Gakuhou says, “and you have grown stronger and smarter from them, have you not?”

“So why are you talking about it now?” Gakushuu mutters. He pushes peas from one side of his plate to another, frowns, then repeats the process.

His father raises an eyebrow. “Because I also know when I should interject,” he says, “it was never necessary then, but I have a feeling you need my advice now.”

Gakushuu says silent.

“Your mother and I fought often,” Gakuhou starts, throwing Gakushuu completely off track. “She was as feisty as I was, and we often clashed heads, but that was why we managed to work well together.”

Gakushuu blinks down at his plate. The peas were clustered at the centre. Was he moving them left to right, or right to left?

“Wait,” Gakushuu interrupts, “why is this relevant?”

Gakuhou blinks. “Did you not get into a fight with Akabane?”

“I mean,” Gakushuu says, getting increasingly confused by the second, “yes, I did, but why is Mom important? Wait, how do you even know that? Did someone post it on Instagram?”

“No,” Gakuhou says, waving a fork around, “you had that… look, about you.”

“My I-fought-with-Karma-Akabane look?” 

There were three sharp, frantic raps on the door, interrupting.

Gakushuu blinks.

Three more knocks. 

Gakushuu shoots his father a bewildered look, who is also staring at the door with a curious expression. He slides off the chair and walks over to open the door, to see, of all people, Karma Akabane, glaring.

“Karma?” Gakushuu blinks. “What are you doing here? Is everything alright with your parents-mmMPH!”

Gakuhou drops his fork with a loud clang. 

Karma lunges forward and grabs Gakushuu’s collar with both hands, and smashes his lips onto his. Gakushuu’s eyes are wide open and Karma’s eyes are screwed shut, and wow, his lashes are long, how had Gakushuu not noticed that before? Why would he notice Karma’s lashes? Why is he noticing them now? Karma’s face is rapidly approaching the colour of his hair and he has kind of a nice blush on, which, wait what?

Karma smells nice, Gakushuu thinks a little hysterically, what soap does he use? His lips are kind of soft, kind of chapped, taste a little like strawberry. His brain is going in many directions and Karma Akabane’s mouth or hair or smell or eyelashes isn’t helping.

Two and a half seconds later Karma lets go, purses his lips and glares at Gakushuu again, unjustifiably angry, and then ups and sprints away.

Gakushuu’s lips are bruised and his collar is upturned and he’s panting hard. He turns to look at his father. “What the fuck,” Gakushuu breathes.

Gakuhou sips his tea and nods in agreement, eyes wide.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Remember to check out the beginning of chapter 10 if you haven't already! Added in a missing part where Karma talks about 3-E (The previous version jumped from Karma getting ready to tell Gakushuu about 3E, then waking up the next morning.)


	14. Chapter 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! Heard you all liked the last chapter :)  
> Someone was asking for a description of how Kabaya/Rukiyo looked like so I decided to do you one better: I commissioned someone to draw them for me. HAHA joking I drew them myself (forgive the crappy art). I don't have that kind of money. Anyone wanna donate some $$$ to a girl in need? ;)

Karma doesn’t come to school the day after, or the day after that.

Gakushuu finds himself lonely at lunch, staring at the empty space he’s used to seeing a neon coloured sneaker or Karma’s stupid face, except.

Gakushuu’s ears heat up, just thinking about it.

“Ren?” He asks.

“Yeah?” Ren cocks his head, eyes wide. “You okay, man? You’re acting weirder than usual. I didn’t want to say anything, but-”

Gakushuu looks left, right, and ascertains that they are away from listening ears in the classroom. “Karma kissed me.”

Ren fumbles with the pen in his hand for a few moments, then drops it anyways. Gakushuu frowns.

“What? Are you serious? When the hell did he pull his head out of his ass?” Ren says incredulously.

“What does that mean?” Gakushuu glares.

“Dude, you two have got to be the most clueless couple ever,” Ren says, “it was actually pretty funny. You two were dating all year and you didn’t even notice.”

“Karma thought we were dating?” Gakushuu frowns.

Ren shakes his head. “No, both of you had no clue what was going on. So, what happened? Don’t leave me hanging.”

“We got into a fight after school on Wednesday,” Gakushuu says, “and went home separately. Later that night during dinner there were knocks on the door, and Karma was there. He didn’t say a single thing, just came forward to kiss me for two and a half seconds, then ran away.”

“Huh,” Ren frowns, consideringly, “just two and a half seconds? That’s kind of pathetic.”

“Can you please focus!” Gakushuu snaps, “does it matter how long he kissed me?”

“It was your first kiss with him, right?” Ren leans forward, looking way too interested. Gakushuu is a little creeped out. “Well, did you kiss him back?”

Gakushuu stays silent.

Ren taps his pen against the table.

“...No,” Gakushuu admits, and Ren gives a gasp way too scandalized for this situation.

“Look, he caught me by surprise, okay?” Gakushuu justifies, “i was in shock.”

“Two and a half seconds is plenty of reaction time,” Ren waves the pen in the air, “look, you’re great with your words but Karma is more of an action guy. That was his confession to you, and you rejected it by not kissing him back.”

“Well what do I do?” Gakushuu demands.

“Do you like him back?” Ren asks, sitting back.

Gakushuu doesn’t reply. He honestly doesn’t know.

Ren’s eyes turn soft. “I think that’s the question you need to answer before you can do anything,” he says gently.

\--

“I fucked up, Nagisa,” Karma buries his face in his hands, “look-”

“Stop right there,” Nagisa says, “I think you need to come over. Or I need to go over?”

Karma peeks at the computer screen through his fingers. “What? Why?”

“This seems like a in-real-life crisis,” Nagisa explains, then, “Mom! I need to go over to Karma’s!”

“What for?” Nagisa’s mom’s voice calls out, from somewhere in the house.

“He’s having an Asano crisis!” Nagisa screams back.

“I never said it was an Asano crisis,” Karma frowns at him.

“All your crisis-es are Asano crisis-es,” Nagisa tells him.

“Asano? That’s the boyfriend, right?” Nagisa’s mom shouts back.

Karma raises an eyebrow. Nagisa looks to the screen frantically, gives him a sheepish smile, then answers, “Yes!”

“Hey!” Karma says.

“Don’t be back too late!” Nagisa’s mom answers.

Nagisa gives Karma a winning grin. Karma flips him off.

\--

“So,” Nagisa says, sitting across Karma on his bed in his room, “the Asano crisis.”

Karma groans. He flops face down on the bed.

“Hey!” Nagisa says, “come on, I’m here to deal with problems. I took a cab all the way for you.”

Karma mumbles something in his mattress.

“What was that?” Nagisa squints like it would help his hearing, “I’m not sure I heard you right. Did you say you kissed Asano? Or killed him? Both seem equally likely, but-”

“Kissed, kissed! I fucking kissed him!” Karma wails.

“Oh my god,” Nagisa’s eyes widen comically, “that’s great! That’s great? What happened? How did he take it?”

“Not very good,” Karma mutters, “he kind of just stared at me in shock.”

“And?” Nagisa sits forward.

“I ran away,” Karma says, then blushes.

“Oh my god,” Nagisa says, “he hasn’t talked to you about it? Did he text you? When was that? Today?”

“Two days ago, and I didn’t go to school,” Karma says, shamefaced.

“Karma!” Nagisa scolds, “stop skipping school and running away from your problems. Aren’t your finals like, next week?”

“Yeah,” Karma says mopily.

“He didn’t kiss you back?” Nagisa demands.

“Nope,” Karma says, popping the p.

“Did you give him enough warning? Reaction time? Or did you ambush him?” Nagisa says.

“...Ambush.”

Nagisa groans. “Aw man, he’s probably in shock right now. Wait, why did you kiss him? Last time I talked to you you weren’t even aware that you liked him.”

“Wait what? What does is supposed to mean?” Karma glares.

“You’re kind of stupid,” Nagisa says bluntly, “for such good grades and all. You like Asano, idiot. You’ve been liking him for this entire year now. You’ve been dating for almost that long, too.”

“What?” Karma blinks. “We have? Does Gakushuu know?”

“Obviously not,” Nagisa points out, “he has been as oblivious as you are. But I’m guessing the kissing gave him a pretty large hint.”

Karma groans, again.

“You two hold hands, eat lunch together, cuddle,” Nagisa says, either unaware or uncaring of Karma’s emotional distress, “you slept on the same bed with him, and he lets you. He shares food with you, and even agrees to your weird-ass competitions, although that just might be his competitive streak, I don’t know. The point is, whatever weirdass crush you have on him, it’s mutual, but I bet you caught him off guard and he hadn’t had time to think about it.“

Karma’s face is burning. He feels it.

“So, what brought about this revelation?” Nagisa asks, again.

“Rukiyo, actually,” Karma tells him.

“Rukiyo Kirita? 3-D Rukiyo?” Nagisa says.

“1-C now, but yeah,” Karma says, “kind of weird, actually. She was saying about how everyone in Kunugigaoka had a crush on Gakushuu at least once, whether they liked guys or not.”

“...She’s not wrong,” Nagisa admits.

“Eh? Nagisa?” Karma says, wide-eyed.

“Never mind,” Nagisa says, “anyways, what else did she say?”

“Nothing,” Karma says, “it made sense that everyone had a crush on Gakushuu, and I guess that made me start thinking of whether I had a crush on Gakushuu, and… well I guess… the answer is yes? But, not back in Middle School, but like. Now.”

Nagisa smiles at him, “I’m glad you’re finally come to terms with your feelings.”

“Nagisaaaa,” Karma whines.

“Well there isn’t really anything you can do,” Nagisa shrugs, “the ball’s in Asano’s court now. I guess all you can do is wait for him to figure his own feelings out and see how he responds.”

\--

Rukiyo corners him first thing on their finals morning. “I’m sorry,” she says sincerely, “I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable with all those comments about Asano.”

Karma smiles at her. “I wasn’t avoiding you or Kabaya. I skipped school.”

“What? Why?” Rukiyo demands.

“Had to deal with stuff,” Karma shrugs, “look, about me and Gakushuu-”

“Right,” Rukiyo nods, “no more talking about it. I promise. You don’t seem like the type of person to get jealous easily but I suppose you never know, huh.”

Karma scrunches his face up, trying to interpret the mess of words coming out of Rukiyo’s mouth and wondering where it all fit in. “What are you talking about?”

“Jealous,” Rukiyo clarifies, “of all of Asano’s admirers? I thought that’s why you were avoiding me at first, because I used to like him? Don’t worry Karma, I stopped crushing on him ages ago, and not like I can compete anyways, you know he only has eyes for you-”

“We’re not together,” Karma says, cocking his head, “Gakushuu and I. Did you think we were?”

Rukiyo opens her mouth, closes it, looks extremely incredulous, then opens her mouth again. “Are you goddamn serious?”

“Yeah,” Karma says.

“Oh my god,” Rukiyo gapes, “Kabaya and I thought you two were together, but just wanted to keep it on the down-low. You know, because you saying you and Asano didn’t need labels?”

Karma thinks for a moment. “Oh.”

“Yeah, oh,” Rukiyo crosses her arms, “but you do like him, right? In a I-want-to-make-out-with-him way?”

Karma starts to say something. Stops. Blushes.

“Oh my god,” Rukiyo repeats, gleeful.

“Listen,” Karma hisses, “I-”

“Oh Karma!” Kabaya spots him and runs over. “Rukiyo, you better not be bothering him again! Listen, you know this girl loves to run her mouth-”

“Asano and Karma aren’t dating,” Rukiyo interrupts.

Kabaya stops, stares. “You’re not?”

“No,” Karma says, the same time Rukiyo says, “But Karma likes him!”

Karma blushes, again.

Kabaya looks like he wants to scream out that information, pat him on the back, or laugh in his face. He does two out of three.

“You going to confess to him?” Rukiyo answers.

“He likes you back, definitely,” Kabaya says, “I don’t know why you’re freaking out about it. For a 1-A student you’re kind of dumb.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HAHA everyone is so excited about chapter 13. Read all the comments! I love comments.  
> That almost makes me feel bad for what I have planned. :)  
> Completely totally unrelated: do yall like angst?  
> hehehehHEHHEHEHHEHEHEH E H E H H E H E H E E H H  
> *ahem*


	15. Chapter 15

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! Thanks for appreciating my art skills. Welcome back after that one day wait!! Are you ready for.... (drumroll please) the kiss? *dun dun dun*  
> As for angst, I love angst!!! I'm planning to write an angst fic soon. Spam me with ideas (or any other fic ideas for that matter I can do fluff too)! Besides, what's a high school rom-com get-together fic without a teeny weeny TINY bit of angst?

“I saw Karma at finals today,” Gakushuu says.

Gakuhou raises an eyebrow. “Did you talk to him?”

Gakushuu shakes his head. “He was talking to his friends. I don’t think he noticed me.”

“It’s been almost a week,” Gakuhou points out, “and you won’t text him?”

“Well he hasn’t texted me,” Gakushuu counters.

“He won’t,” Gakuhou says, twirling pasta on his fork, “he asked you a question, and he’s waiting for your answer, and he hasn’t heard from you in a week.”

“Well it’s not my fault Karma didn’t come to school,” Gakushuu justifies.

“You know where he lives,” Gakuhou points out, unhelpfully.

Gakushuu frowns at his plate. “Well what do you want me to do?”

“Talk to him,” Gakuhou rolls his eyes. “I’ve been trying to tell you that but you won’t listen, as usual. If you’re not going to take my advice then why are you even talking to me about it?”

Gakushuu rolls his eyes. “You’re the one who wanted to ‘give me advice’ the other day, as so you put it. You even brought up you and Mom. Did you think Karma and I were having some sort of domestic quarrel?”

“Perhaps,” Gakuhou says, “but that certainly seems to be the case now, isn’t it?”

Gakushuu scowls at his pasta. 

“You’re a coward,” Gakuhou eyes him critically, “you never like to take risks. Even when you were younger you always went for the safer option, and yet you always failed.”

“That was because I didn’t have a key piece of information, which was that their teacher was a giant yellow superhuman,” Gakushuu mutters sourly.

“I wasn’t just talking about 3-E,” Gakuhou says, “although that particular year was just your worst performance to date. Besides, you’re not going to know your enemies’ main strategies most of the time.”

“...Karma’s not my enemy,” Gakushuu says.

“He’s the problem you’re trying to solve,” Gakuhou points out, “so solve it.”

“It’s not that simple,” Gakushuu frowns at him, “and he’s not a problem, either.” 

“All the years of my training wasted because you suddenly decide to let your head get clouded by emotion,” Gakuhou sighs dramatically, “well, alright.”   
“Well, this is an emotional issue,” Gakushuu insists, “how the hell did you manage to get a woman if you approach everything like you solve a Math problem?”

“You’re making this way too complicated for yourself,” Gakuhou says, “the key to all relationships is communication.”

“Not like I had a good role model for that, either,” Gakushuu mutters. His father frowns at him.

“And,” Gakuhou continues, “compromise, but you’re not even trying on the communication aspect. Aren’t you supposed to be good with your words?”

“I’m working on it,” Gakushuu says, flustered, “I-”

“So pathetic. Teenage boys are ridiculous.” Gakuhou rolls his eyes.

“Well,” Gakushuu says, embarrassed, “nobody asked you to get a kid, but you did, so you got to deal with it, no matter how much you like it or not.”

“I’m going to pretend that’s not an euphemism for getting me as your father,” Gakuhou says mildly, “but I supposed that’s true. Nobody asked your mother to leave but I suppose that’s our problem to deal with.”

“She didn’t leave,” Gakushuu spits, “she died.”

“Yes,” Gakuhou says.

“Do you even care?” Gakushuu snaps.

“Of course I do,” Gakuhou frowns at him, “I married her.”

“I, Well,” Gakushuu bites his lip, “okay,” he sighs, “Okay.” 

His father cocks his head, and furrows his brows. “You’re so emotional and brash, just like her.”

Gakushuu draws in a sharp breath. “Yeah, and you’re cold and heartless. Why the hell did you get into teaching anyways?”

There’s a sharp flash of, something, flashing across Asano Senior’s face, but it’s gone as quickly as it appears, and the cool facade sets in. “Well,” Gakuhou raises an eyebrow, “to raise a population of strong and intelligent young minds, of course.”

“Don’t use your board meeting pitch on me,” Gakushuu glares, “and with what, your totalitarian teaching regime? What was Kunugigaoka, your personal science experiment?”

“...Of course not,” Gakuhou says, a beat too slow.

Gakushuu’s eyes widen, then he blinks quickly, then slams his hand on the table. “What, so I was? Huh? I’m your son! No matter what shit we say at the end of the day I’m your only kid, does that mean anything to you?”

“I didn’t say anything,” Gakuhou narrows his eyes.

“How the hell did Mom agree to this? Did you decide on your crazy parenting routine before or after she died?” Gakushuu demands.

“Your mother had no criticism on my parenting,” Gakuhou says coolly.

“Bullshit!” Gakushuu yells. “I refuse to believe that she left me with a psycho like you!”

“She didn’t leave,” Gakuhou repeats his son’s words, “you barely remember her, anyways. You were five.”

“I remember enough,” Gakushuu says bitterly, “god, you suck. You’re an awful parent.”

“You know that,” Gakuhou says warily, “so why did you come to me for advice in the first place? If you remember enough, then you remember I’m not your mother. What about those friends of yours? Sakakibara, or what did you call yourselves? Virtuosos, or something?”

“Maybe I just wanted some emotional support, or something,” Gakushuu hisses, “it’s like I’m the only one trying to fix this stupid family, I swear.”

“That’s an even worse idea,” Gakuhou says, “you are insane. Emotional support? Why-”

“Well maybe it’s because you’re my fucking dad!” Gakushuu screams. He gets up abruptly and his chair clatters to the floor. “You’re supposed to be my dad. Why do you have to be so condescending all the fucking time? If I can’t even talk to you then who can I-”

Gakuhou looks at him.

Gakushuu blinks. His face is burning and his eyes are wet. “Whatever,” he says hotly, “whatever. I’ll figure it out, right? I always do.”

“Asa-” Gakuhou starts.

Gakushuu marches upstairs. He’s not even sure why he’s this worked up. He’s never sworn at his father before.

There are soft raps on his door. Gakushuu ignores it, and buries his face in his pillow.

Gakuhou opens the door. “Son,” he starts.

“I’ll talk to him, okay,” Gakushuu mutters, “I’m incompetent, I’m clueless, blah blah. You can go now.”

“That’s. Not.” Gakuhou says. Winces. For the first time in his life he’s incredibly out of his depth. 

“Look,” he tries again, “I’m. Sorry.”

Gakushuu wasn’t lying when he said his father has become more unpredictable as of late. This takes the cake.

“What did you just say?” Gakushuu says. He sits up on his bed. His eyes are wet.

Gakuhou gives him a brief annoyed look, but sighs. “You’re a mess,” he says bluntly, “a pathetic, emotionally stunted, overly competitive and manipulative terrorizing teenager that no parent would ever want.” 

Gakushuu doesn’t look away. He tilts his head up and glares, instinctively. 

“But,” Gakuhou says with a wry quirk of his lips and incredibly soft eyes, “that’s on me. I made you into this flawed character of a human being that never had a normal family, or home, or father. And that’s my fault. If I had a choice I would love to take it all back, but I can’t. We have to play with the hands fate dealt us.”

“You used to want to be a teacher, didn’t you,” Gakushuu says, “a real one. A good one, not like that dictator-principal shell of a former man you used to be.”

Gakuhou narrows his eyes warningly. “You don’t know a thing.”

“That’s because you don’t tell me,” Gakushuu says wetly, “communication is key, right? Where’s the fucking communication in this house?”

“Well it died with your mother!” Gakuhou snaps.

Gakushuu’s mouth shuts. He grits his teeth. 

“No,” Gakushuu says, face dark, “it died because you’re a coward that can’t face life without her. You say I’m emotionally stunted but then what are you?”

Gakuhou sighs. “Alright,” he starts again, voice softer, “Look. Let’s try this again. You’re a horrible person, but that’s because I’m a horrible person that raised you wrong. If your mother were here maybe things would have turned out different, but she’s not, so we have to live with what we got.”

“Well it’s your fault,” Gakushuu says, voice wobbly.

“That’s what this conversation is about,” Gakuhou sighs.

“Well you can’t even apologize like a decent human being,” Gakushuu says, scowling defiantly.

“Well I don’t know what you want me to say!” Gakuhou throws his hands up, visibly frustrated. “I can’t undo 11 years of your life. Do you want me to tell you that I used to teach, and i used to teach morals and values and things like that that would make you a good person, and one of my students killed himself because he held by those principles and got bullied to his death? Do you want me to explain that the E-Class system was to prevent the talented from falling to suicide because they would have someone to criticize? Do you want me to say meeting you for the first time was the happiest day of my goddamn life, and losing your mother was the worst?”

“Why?” Gakushuu demands, head high and lips quivering, “why are you saying all this?! What’s your goal?! You think this is going to make me forgive you? Your sob villain backstory?” 

“I don’t have a goal,” Gakuhou tells him coldly, “I don’t expect your forgiveness. You wanted to know why I chose the path I did, right? You have it. What more do you want?”

“You’re the coward,” Gakushuu snarls, “afraid of doing the right thing because of one mistake?”

“Watch your words, he wasn’t a mistake,” his father threatens, “suicide is no joke, Asano.”

“Well you’re just deluded, aren’t you,” Gakushuu grits his teeth, “how many people in the E-Class do you think actually last out there in the real world once they graduate? You just don’t know because none of them bother to keep in contact with this shitty school anymore. This isn’t teaching, this is abuse! Mom would never had stood for this!”

“Well,” Gakuhou says stiffly, “you never did remember your mother well enough then, I suppose.”

“LIAR!” Gakushuu screams. He throws the nearest thing within his reach at his father. It’s a pillow, and it doesn’t hit. 

“Asa-” 

“LEAVE ME ALONE! DON’T SAY TALK ABOUT HER LIKE THAT!” Gakushuu starts sobbing unbiddenly, “WHO THE HELL ARE YOU? YOU THINK YOU CAN COME HERE LIKE THAT AND TALK ABOUT HER, FUCKING SHIT?”

“You were five!’ Gakuhou shouts.

“YES I WAS, YOU CRUEL BASTARD,” Gakushuu cries, “AND SOMEHOW THE DEATH OF YOUR OLD STUDENT MEANT MORE THAN THE LIFE OF YOUR OWN FIVE YEAR OLD SON! YOU DON’T EVEN CALL ME BY MY FIRST NAME! THE FUCK YOU NAMED ME AFTER YOURSELF, ANYWAYS? I DON’T WANT IT, PSYCHO!”

For the second time in his life, Gakuhou is crushed. “Gaku-” 

“DON’T SAY IT, I DON’t WANT TO HEAR YOU SAY IT!” Gakushuu throws another pillow. “LEAVE ME ALONE!”

“Listen,” Gakuhou tries, softly.

“WHEN HAVE YOU EVER DONE, HUH?” Gakushuu screams. “You ever listen to me? NO! You listen to that STUPID VOICE IN YOUR HEAD and the GHOST of that DEAD KID and you don’t want me to become. BUT YOU KNOW WHO I’M GOING TO BE, HUH?”

“Well,” Gakushuu says, taking a shuddering breath with tears streaming down his face, “I’m going to be them. Those bullies that drove him to death. You won then, huh, the E-Class is your dead kid and the rest of the school are those people that picked on him until he died. Was that what you wanted?”

Gakuhou stays silent.

“WAS THAT WHAT YOU FUCKING WANTED?” Gakushuu yells, “ANSWER ME, COWARD.”

“STOP RUNNING YOUR MOUTH,” Gakuhou roars.

“I’M RIGHT AND YOU KNOW IT,” Gakushuu screams, “COWARD! LIAR!”

There’s a loud slap and Gakushuu falls back, and Gakuhou is left again, staring in shock at his palm. Gakushuu stares at him with wide eyes, hands over the red mark on his cheek, thumb pressing on the spot where blood has started welling up.

“Gaku-”

“Get out,” Gakushuu says, stone cold. His eyes are red and his face is blotchy and he’s crying, silently. Then he hiccups and then chokes and then he’s five years old again and sobbing on the couch with a skinned knee, except there’s no more finger painting or playing tag or jumping on water puddles and over sidewalk cracks, because one day Gakuhou comes home alone and hugs his son and that’s the last time in 11 years that he does.

“Get out,” Gakushuu whispers, voice shaky, blood mixing with tears on his sheets. There’s an indescribable expression on Gakuhou’s face.

Gakuhou leaves, and Gakushuu cries and cries and cries, for the first time in a very long time.

\--

Karma doesn’t come in first, or second, or third. He comes in fourth.

It’s not a surprise to him. He wasn’t in the best headspace when taking the finals, worrying about Gakushuu and love confessions and stray kisses and whatnot. 

Also unsurprisingly, Gakushuu comes in first.

Not 3 minutes after the release of results, Karma gets a text from said No-Longer-Second-Place. 

“2pm. Rooftop.” 

A bet was a bet, Karma supposes, even if he did want to spontaneously combust. Secretly he hopes Kabaya and Rukiyo and Nagisa are right.

\--

Gakushuu is leaning against a wall when Karma comes first, staring emptily into the sky. The clouds are grey.

“Hey,” Karma says, stuffing his hands in his pockets, “you won our bet.” 

He feels vulnerable, not just because of the bet, and now Gakushuu can do whatever he wants to Karma. He has his feelings out in the open and laid out like cards face up, and despite what Nagisa and Kabaya and Rukiyo think, Gakushuu is a hard book to read, taking very much after his dad. Maybe everyone from Kunugigaoka had seen the charismatic student-council-president side of him, but 3-E in particular were treated to multiple facets of the enigma that is Gakushuu Asano, and even then Karma couldn’t get the right feel of him.

Gakushuu stares at him blankly. It’s unnerving.

“I did,” Gakushuu says, with none of the cockiness or fanfare that Karma expected. His voice is devoid of emotion and it’s actually fucking terrifying.

“Well?” Karma spreads his hands out, hoping he’s not projecting as much nervousness as he thinks he is.

Gakushuu tilts his head, steps forward, and kisses Karma.

There are no sparks or fireworks or anything like that but kissing Gakushuu Asano is pretty fucking nice. 

Gakushuu’s hands are in his hair and his lips are immensely soft and they taste a little sweet, like fruit juice, and Karma cups his face and kisses him back.

Three and a half seconds later and Gakushuu pulls back while gently pushing Karma away, looking flushed and pretty adorable, so it’s kind of like being stabbed really hard in the chest by Nagisa smiling sweetly at you when he says, colder than the Arctic or whatever is colder than absolute zero, “I don’t think we should see each other anymore.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> haha oops did i say teeny weeny TINY bit of angst? Oops must have been a typo.  
> See you tomorrow! ;)


	16. Chapter 16

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone! Glad you all hated the previous chapter. That was my intention!

Does using a breakup line count when technically, Karma and Gakushuu weren’t dating? 

Wow, Karma thinks, what a bitch. Gakushuu doesn’t even look back. Just walks off like he’s too good for the world, like he isn’t leaving little bleeding pieces of Karma’s heart on the floor and stepping on them as he goes.

“Huh,” Karma says.

His hair is messy from where Gakushuu’s fingers have curled up in and his mouth is still a little warm and he still has Gakushuu’s shampoo in his nose. It’s orange-scented, how befitting.

His phone starts buzzing. Karma answers without glancing at the caller ID.

It’s Kabaya. “Hey, Karma,” he says, “how’s your meeting with Asano? You lost the bet, right? Did you confess to him? Rukiyo and I want to go out for celebratory ice cream, we both improved pretty much, you wanna come? Make it I-got-a-boyfriend ice cream?”

“I don’t know, I think he just broke up with me?” Karma says a little hysterically, still looking at the closed rooftop door, “I mean, we weren’t even dating, but he said he doesn’t think we should see each other anymore, so I’m thinking that’s a no? I actually kissed him a week ago, so that was my confession, even if I didn’t say anything with words, and he didn’t answer me then because frankly I didn’t give him time to but he just said we shouldn’t see each other anymore so I’m guessing that’s my answer, and it’s a no, right?”

“Oh my god,” Kabaya says, after a beat or two if silence. “We’re coming over now. Where are you? You said roof, right?”

Kabaya and Rukiyo burst in about 2 minutes later. Karma’s still standing in the same spot he was and clutching onto his phone.

“Baby!” Rukiyo wails, and runs and hugs him.

Kabaya joins the hug. It’s kind of nice, Karma supposes.

“I’m alright, guys. I don’t even feel anything.” Karma tells them.

“Oh honey,” Rukiyo says.

“Seriously, I’m okay,” Karma says, “I don’t even know why I’m crying. Why am I crying?”

“It’s okay, man,” Kabaya whispers.

\--

Karma doesn’t know what to do. He doesn’t want to see his parents, or anyone else, really. He gets on the subway and takes it downtown and knocks on Nagisa’s door.

Nagisa’s mom answers. “Karma, hi,” she greets, “are you looking for Nagisa? He’s in his room. He didn’t say you were coming over.”

“I didn’t tell him,” Karma mutters.

“Honey, are you crying?” She looks worried, “you okay?”

“Fine,” Karma says, wiping his hands on his pants. Nagisa startles, says, “Karma? What are you doing here?” Then lunges forward and hugs him. 

“Well you were wrong, I guess,” Karma laughs humorlessly, curled up on Nagisa’s bed with the boy’s lap as a pillow, “I guess he didn’t really like me very much after all.”

“Well he didn’t have to be so insensitive about it,” Nagisa says angrily, “do you want me to talk to him? I can-”

“No!” Karma yells, and sits up. He wipes his eyes. “No, he’ll know I came to you.”

“And what’s wrong with that?” Nagisa crosses his arms, “if you can’t go to friends in your time of need, then what’s the point of them? I’m sure even he’ll get that concept.”

“I guess,” Karma gives a one-shouldered shrug.

“Well,” Nagisa slumps back, “I won’t talk to him, I promise. But what are you going to do? Sure, there’s winter break, but you’ll be in the same class.”

“I don’t know,” Karma says honestly.

“I honestly think you should talk to him,” Nagisa says, “I mean, not now. But before break ends. Figure out why.”

Karma turns to look at Nagisa, squinting. “Why he doesn’t like me?”

“Why he rejected you, like that,” Nagisa says, looking to the ceiling, “he could’ve just said no. Kissing you before that was cruel. And I don’t think he doesn’t like you, honestly.”

“I don’t know,” Karma says, sighing, “I don’t know. Can’t I just never see him again? I’ll just stab someone else and drop down to E class? Maybe there’ll be another teacher for me to assassinate?”

“You can’t run away from your problems,” Nagisa chides, “even though it seems like the easy path, you’ll suffer down the road. You need to clear things up with him. At least figure out what you did.”

“I kissed him first,” Karma reminds him.

“And he kissed you back,” Nagisa says, “a week late, sure, but to be fair you kind of jumped on him. And that proves that he wanted it. Asano’s not cruel. I mean, okay, maybe a little, but I don’t think he’ll play you like that.”

“Yeah,” Karma says, “maybe.”

“You sleeping over tonight?” Nagisa asks.

“I don’t really want to go home now,” Karma tells him. 

“I’ll pull out the spare mattress,” Nagisa says.

\--

“I said no.”

“Gakushuu,” Ren blinks, “what did you do?”

“To Karma. Akabane. I said no.” Gakushuu crosses his arms, standing awkwardly in Ren’s doorway.

“No, okay. Yes, you said no. But you didn’t just say no, did you? What did you do?” Ren asks. He steps back to let Gakushuu in.

Gakushuu sits down hard on his couch. “Kissed him. Told him we shouldn’t ever see each other again.”

“Oh,” Ren’s eyes widen, “okay, what is wrong with you? People call me a heartbreaker but even I’m not that cruel.”

“Look, I didn’t come here for you to mock me,” Gakushuu glares at him, “if you’re just going to keep questioning me I’ll just leave-”

“I called you over,” Ren says, “because whatever you did or said to Akabane after school, you made him cry, okay?”

Gakushuu blinks. He sits back down on the couch. “What?”

“Yeah,” Ren crosses his arms and scowls, “Rukiyo, that’s Akabane’s friend that I’m tutoring, called me up and asked me to tell you, and I’m not going to censor it, to ‘shut the fucking fuck up and stop being a cold-hearted asshole, and to fight her fair and square if you really wanna hit something instead of breaking Karma’s heart because fuck knows why that boy likes you and won’t fight back but I sure fucking will’, unquote.”

“I remember,” Gakushuu says faintly, “1-C, right? Used to be 3-D.”

“Yeah,” Ren shifts his weight, “you’re a bit of an asshole, honestly, but,” Ren’s gaze softens, “what’s wrong?”

“I don’t want to talk about it,” Gakushuu looks away.

Ren holds up his hands in surrender. “Okay,” he says easily. He sits down next to Gakushuu and presses his knee to his leg. 

Gakushuu takes a shuddering breath. He buries his head in his hands.

Ren moves closer. “You okay, man?”

“No,” Gakushuu says. 

Ren nods, and presses his shoulder to Gakushuu’s. 

Gakushuu sighs. “I think I fucked up,” he whispers. 

Ren makes an inquisitive noise. 

“Karma. I miss him,” Gakushuu says.

“You were pretty stupid,” Ren says softly. Gakushuu laughs in agreement, humorlessly.  He buries his face in his hands and groans.

“You think you’re not good enough for him?” Ren guesses.

“He wants to be a bureaucrat,” Gakushuu mumbles, “he’s going to be a social worker and actually help people. I’m mean and awful.”

“Honestly?” Ren says, “you kind of are. But,” he crouches down in front of Gakushuu and kisses his forehead, “you’re just a kid. You’re 16.”

“I’m an awful 16 year old,” Gakushuu mumbles back, “Karma’s so pretty and nice. He should get a nice 16 year old for a boyfriend instead.”

“You’re so stupid,” Ren rolls his eyes affectionately, “you’re not making any more sense than you usually do, but I’m assuming this is about your insecure attitude issues that you finally realize you’re turning out way too much like your dad and it’s making you reevaluate your life and friendships and relationships, causing you to push away the one person that has somehow managed to fall in love with your stubborn ass?”

Gakushuu looks up accusingly. “You’ve thought about this.”

“Figured it was a matter of time,” Ren shrugs, “I had a list of precautions and how to cheer sad-Gakushuu up but half of the list consists of “get Karma” because I didn’t factor in that your stupid ass would break up with him but-”

“Shut up!” Gakushuu chokes out a laugh despite himself. 

Ren grins. “I just want to say, that yeah, you’re a bit of an asshole and you can be mean and have twisted ethics but you’re a good leader, a good student council president that cares about the school and the students, and a good friend. Karma’s a little shit but he won’t pick you if he thought you weren’t worth it, horrible Daddy issues or no.” Then, “wanna talk about it now or do I let you mope a little?”

“Gakuhou hit me again,” Gakushuu says, touching a spot on his cheek, and only then does Ren notice a bruise, covered up by makeup. 

“We got into a really huge fight.” Gakushuu says, “I’m not going to tell you what it’s about yet.”

“That’s okay,” Ren says gently, “your dad sucks.”

“He does,” Gakushuu agrees with a quirk of his lips, “I wonder what Mom saw in him.”

Ren stills. Then, “you miss her?”

“All the time,” Gakushuu curls up. Ren wraps an arm around him. Gakushuu buries his face in Ren’s shoulder, and sighs.

“You two talked about her?” Ren asks.

“Something like that,” Gakushuu mumbles. 

“You wanna call up the others?” Ren asks, “watch a movie or go out for a walk, or something?” 

“I think I want to stay inside,” Gakushuu tells him, “but yeah, sure, a movie’s great.”

\--

Seo and Koyama come at the same time, bearing food and snacks. Araki comes last. 

The Virtusos snuggle on Gakushuu, with Ren and Seo on either side of him, Araki and Koyama on the floor by his legs. They know he’s touch-starved, which is one of the reasons why Ren and Koyama thinks Gakushuu took to Karma incredibly quickly, and nobody mentions it, but it’s little things like this that make Gakushuu feel warmer. 

Gakushuu doesn’t follow the movie at all, but it’s a rom-com of some sorts. Ren lets Gakushuu use him as a pillow and there’s something to say about his exhaustion when he’s gone almost instantly, and waking up to a different movie with the volume set low for background chatter, and everyone conversing in low voices.

“Oh, he’s awake,” Gakushuu hears Koyama say. He blinks.

“Hey, sleeping beauty,” Ren says, “nice nap?”

“It didn’t work,” Araki mock-whispers to Seo, “he looks as awful as ever.” Seo laughs loud.

“Haha, funny,” Gakushuu says, deadpan. It kind of is, honestly, and makes him feel better that his friends aren’t weird about his awful phase he’s going through.

“Your dad dropped by earlier,” Ren says.

“Oh?” Gakushuu says.

“He saw you asleep and said he’ll come by later. Told us to drop him a call when you woke up.” Ren shrugs.

“So what about it, boss?” Koyama asks, “we call him, or no?”

Gakushuu sighs. “Might as well get it over with, right? Call him, let me go wash up.”

“Mm’kay,” Araki says, sounding distinctly worried even as he pulls out his phone.

Gakushuu looks at himself in Ren’s bathroom mirror, thinks of his father, and then washes the makeup off. The wound still stings with Ren’s soap but there’s no makeup remover on hand. His father must he nearby because when Gakushuu is down in 10 minutes he’s already there, in an incredibly tense intimidation contest with the four other Virtuosos. Gakushuu is a little touched.

“Hey,” he calls out.

Gakuhou’s gaze immediately snaps over. Gakushuu instantly knows something is wrong, and he’s not sure how he knows.

“Call us if you need anything,” Koyama says.

“Yeah,” Gakushuu says, biting his lip, his hands running up and down his forearms. Gakuhou looks at him, then sighs sadly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ooh I just love the Asano father/son dynamic. Don't you?


	17. Chapter 17

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sup guys! Question: should I post a fic where I make Gakushuu get hit by a car, or should I post the one where I make him a girl instead and I make her go on a date with Karma?

Winter break comes. 

The bruise on Gakushuu’s face turns a motley purple, and he stares at himself in the mirror and deliberates covering it up and then deciding not to, before going out to meet the Virtuosos. 

He bites his lip. It’s kind of stupid, but he’s putting on strawberry lip balm. 

“Whatever,” Gakushuu mutters, “own it.” 

Gakuhou is in the kitchen when Gakushuu enters. His father doesn’t say anything but Gakushuu feels his gaze on his back the entire time. Gakushuu hasn’t spoken to him in a few days, and his dinners are spent in his room or over at Ren’s house, where his parents pat him on the head and he wears foundation to look like a normal kid.

People still at the cafe. There’s a group of students he recognizes, whispering sharply.

“Own it,” Gakushuu thinks to himself, “your dad backhanded you. Nothing that Kunugigaoka hasn’t seen before.”

There had been quite a scandal the other time, seeing the principal’s son spitting blood at the nurse’s office, then finding out who not only dared, but managed to hit him. No word went out of Kunugigaoka, Gakuhou made sure of that, but Gakushuu wore the mark around until it faded, too.

Ren’s gaze softens when he sees Gakushuu, but he doesn’t mention it. Araki hands him a glass of water and Seo makes an incredibly stupid joke and Koyama laughs the loudest. Ren throws an arm around him and squeezes.

“You can sleep over if you want,” Ren whispers.

“I’m good,” Gakushuu says, “thanks.”

The cafe doors burst open. Rukiyo storms in, a flustered Kabaya at her heels, and she makes a beeline for their table. “You!”

Ren stands up, and holds his hands out placatingly. “Rukiyo-”

“Shut up, pretty boy,” Rukiyo snaps, and grabs him by the collar. It’s an almost amusing sight, tiny Rukiyo with her fists curled up and pulling Ren down to her height. She glares, and shoves him. He stares at her as he falls flat on his ass.

“Asano! You asshole!” She whips around and glares, “Do you know-” 

Rukiyo pauses. Stares. “Your face,” she says.

Gakushuu stares. She was a past student of Kunugigaoka Middle School, she’ll get it.

And she does. “Oh my god,” her eyes widen in recognition.

“What?” Kabaya says, “Asano, did you get into a-”

“No, shut up,” Rukiyo says, nudging him, “we’re leaving.”

“But you dragged me in here to start a fight,” Kabaya protests.

Rukiyo gives Gakushuu a wide-eyed glance and pulls Kabaya out the door. The chatter is growing louder and Ren still hasn’t picked himself off the floor, and Gakushuu sidesteps him and goes after the duo.

“Hey!” 

Rukiyo whirls. “The fuck you want?” She sounds defensive.

Gakushuu opens his mouth, closes it. He didn’t think he would get this far. “How’s Karma?” He tries.

“Crying over your dumb bitchass,” she hisses, “he wouldn’t even eat strawberry ice cream. I spent six whole dollars on the fancy kind!” 

Then her voice drops low and distinctly worried, “you’re not in trouble, are you?”

“The hell?” Kabaya looks between them, “Rukiyo, what’s wrong? Asano, are you okay?”

Rukiyo’s gaze flicker to him. “Tell you later,” she promises, then, “is that… why you said no?”

“No,” Gakushuu says.

She looks at him for a long time and searches his face, then says, “I don’t believe you.”

Gakushuu tilts his head in acknowledgement. “Don’t tell Karma.”

She looks around at the empty street like she’s expecting something to come for her. “Fine,” she says, “but you have to fix this.”

Kabaya stares at him and frowns.

Gakushuu looks her in the eye. “No.”

“Asshole,” she spits, “come on, Kabaya.” She turns around and ignores Gakushuu and Kabaya spares Gakushuu one last glance, then hurries after her.

\--

There’s a photo album in the attic that’s left open in Gakuhou’s study. 

Gakushuu didn’t mean to go there, but the phone is ringing off it’s hook. He takes a message from the board of directors at some fancy high school overseas and then stares at a picture of his father grinning into the camera, an unnamed student in his arms.

Gakushuu tries to remember if he’s seen Gakuhou smile like that. He hasn’t.

There are a few more pages of this child’s face, and a basketball.

“This is him, isn’t it,” Gakushuu whispers to himself. The smiling face of his father, hair messy and eyes brighter than Gakushuu has ever seen on him or himself, stares back.

Gakushuu sits down heavily.

“So you do know how to smile, asshole,” Gakushuu tells the picture.

The page gets blurry, then wet.

There’s another page of Gakushuu and three students, happy and youthful, all bundled up in his arms. He would like to meet them, Gakushuu thinks bitterly, ask them how they did it. How they got Gakuhou to love them?

That page gets a little damp, too. Gakushuu wipes his eyes.

“You ever been that happy with me?” He says, and turns the page.

It’s a picture of Gakuhou, holding a child. He’s smiling. 

The child has bright violet eyes and strawberry blonde hair. Gakuhou has his tongue stuck out and little Gakushuu is making a grab for it, and he imagines his mother taking a picture, laughing. The shot is a little fuzzy around the edges.

“Huh,” Gakushuu says softly.

The next is a family portrait. His mother has fluffy strawberry blonde hair and light eyes and she’s holding him, and Gakuhou is next to them. He already has his hair slicked back.

The next picture is just of Shiina. She’s smiling into the camera.

The one after that is Gakushuu, four, gesturing to the camera. His mother is in the background. Must have been taken by Gakuhou.

The picture next to it is Gakushuu again, in a miniature version of his father’s suit. His hair is slicked back and he’s pouting at the camera. Gakuhou has an equally exaggerated pout. He looks five.

There's a blank page, after. 

Then it’s a picture of Gakushuu in Kunugigaoka middle school and his 1-A, proudly holding up his result slip. He’s grinning into the camera. 

Gakuhuu laughs, a little.

There are more pictures, each one of some prize ceremony of a sort with Gakushuu receiving an award from a guest of honor, that his father had scribbled the name of in pen by the side of the picture. Gakushuu watches his smile get sharper and eyes harder as he looks into the camera, still smiling.

The latest photo in the series is from early this year, posing with an award for an international science competition, along with the other students. 

Gakusuu flips the page. He doesn’t know what to expect, and he’s still surprised. 

It’s a candid of him, making a goofy face while talking to Ren, back in his first year in middle school. It was taken by Seo, and posted on Ren’s instagram with the caption, “look at this adorable weirdo.”

There’s a group shot next, him and the four other Virtuosos, arms around each other and peace signs held up. Gakushuu had posted it on his own. “Top 5!” He had typed.

“The hell you printed this out for?” Gakushuu says incredulously.

Pictures of him follow. Many many pictures, taken off social media and candids he has never seen of himself that doesn’t need a genius to guess who took them.

Gakushuu starts flipping the pages, first slowly, then quickly, then he’s just barely scanning the pictures, quickly going through the pages just to see when it ended. His heart is beating hard.

And then there’s that picture Gakahou had chosen to mark the start of Gakushuu’s first year in Kunugigaoka High.

That picture from the school-wide tag that he and Karma played. Gakushuu laughing, Karma in the background grinning just as hard. 

Gakushuu wipes his eyes. He flips back a few pages. There aren’t non-posed pictures of him smiling like that then.

After tag, there’s a shot of him smiling at his phone. He doesn’t remember that. He doesn’t remember half these pictures.

There are screenshots of several Karashuu posts printed out. There are pictures taken at his house that would never have ended up on instagram, a picture of Karma and Gakushuu tangled on the couch, fast asleep. There’s another picture of them, cuddled up and reading together.

Gakushuu chokes on a sob.

The last picture in the album is of him. It’s a profile, a candid, that’s unflattering and raw and real. The ugly red bruise is clearly visible right next to his mouth, and Gakushuu isn’t smiling, looking out of the car window. There are ugly tear tracks running down his face.

Using a phone will driving was dangerous, Gakushuu thinks, how didn’t he notice this picture being taken?

Gakushuu shuts the album with a loud slam, and slides to the floor, hand over his mouth to stifle a whimper.

The door opens. “Gakushuu?” It’s Gakuhou’s voice.

Gakushuu gets up and throws the album. Gakuhou catches it off reflex and stares at Gakushuu in shock, then recognizes what he’s holding. 

“What-” Gakuhou starts.

“I hate you!” Gakushuu sobs, “hate you!” 

His father looks torn. 

Gakushuu wipes his face with the back of his hand and makes a split second decision. He clambers on his father’s table and leaps into his arms.

Gakuhou stumbles back but catches him. For some reason, Gakushuu knew he would.

Gakushuu sobs. “I hate you, hate you.” 

Gakuhou sinks to the floor, and they’re an awkward tangle of limbs who’s not sure how to close around each other but then his father kisses him lightly on the forehead and squeezes him tight and it’s by far the most uncomfortable position Gakushuu has ever been with his father, and he doesn’t want to let go.

\--

Winter break goes. 

Karma goes to school even though he doesn’t want to. Maybe it’s Kabaya’s shifty expression or the circulating picture of Rukiyo yelling at Gakushuu with a visible mark on his face, or maybe he’s just masochistic.

Gakushuu looks tired. Karma watches him and he looks exhausted, eyebags heavy and unfairly cuddly in his sweater, and the bruise on his face is yellowing. 

He’s not smiling. Asshole rarely does, Karma tries to think, but he does. Gakushuu smiles at school if only to put up an act but Gakushuu smiles with him, and it’s real, or at least Karma thinks it is. 

He’s pretty. Gakushuu looks awful and like he’s been through a paper shredder, and Karma thinks he’s fucking pretty.

He laughs bitterly.

The school seems to know something’s up. Obviously, Karma and Gakushuu are steadily ignoring each other even through lunch, where Karma retreats to the roof and Rukiyo and Kabaya join him.

“The fuck you want?” He asks Sakaibara, whose awkwardly waiting for him by the toilets when he comes out. 

“Can we talk?” Sakakibara looks incredibly nervous.

“Fine,” Karma says, “your best friend making you do the dirty work?” It comes out a lot more hostile than Karma imagined in his head.

Sakakibara winces. “He doesn’t know I’m talking to you. Listen, I know this is too much to ask but please give him time? I know he hurt you and honestly it’s a bitch move but Gakushuu really does like you.”

“And what if he never gets his shit together?” Karma says flatly.

Sakakibara opens his mouth. Closes it. “Sorry,” he says. 

Karma bristles. “Yeah, but you’re not the one who should be saying that to me.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay so the next chapter will finally have some Karma/Gakushuu action! Conversation? Conversaction.


	18. Chapter 18

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi hi hi! Here comes the make-up chapter I promise this one is low angst and high fluff.

There’s talk about going back to the old 3-E classroom behind Kunugigaoka Middle School for a reunion, one year after Koro-sensei’s death, but Karma’s not in the mood for it. The chat group in 3-E is buzzing with activity. Karma sighs and turns his phone off.

He’s waiting by the gate for Kabaya, staring at his phone and deliberating turning it on just to play a game, when Gakushuu walks up to him. 

“What do you want?” Karma says, voice blank, staring at his shoes.

“I’m sorry,” is the first thing Gakushuu says. It sounds genuine and sincere and Karma looks up. The mark on Gakushuu’s face is almost gone and his eyes look brighter, and there’s a downturned curve to his lips.

“Okay,” Karma says. He looks back down to his phone, to see his screen black. He should turn it on.

“Karma,” Gakushuu says.

“Didn’t know you knew how to apologize,” Karma says softly.

“There are firsts for many things,” Gakushuu says. Karma looks up at him again. His lips are quirked up like it’s an inside joke to himself, or something.

Fuck. Karma should stop thinking about his lips.

“Can I come over later?” Gakushuu continues, “talk about things.”

“Oh, so you want to see me again?” Karma says coldly.

“I never stopped wanting to,” Gakushuu admits.

Karma’s stare turns hard. “Funny,” he drawls, “nice way you have, of showing it.” He spies Kabaya waiting a little while aways, looking over, unsure.

“I have to go,” Karma tells him.

Gakushuu glances back, spies Kabaya, and turns towards Karma again. “Talk later?”

“Fine,” Karma bites his lip, “call me.”

Gakushuu gives him a wry sad smile, digs his hands in his pockets, and walks off. Kabaya comes running up. “You okay, Karma?”

“Yeah, fine,” Karma shrugs, “he just wanted to talk. I told him we’d reschedule.”

“Well Rukiyo said,” Kabaya starts. Stops. Bites his lip.

“What she say?” Karma asks curiously. Rukiyo was mostly full of shit, but she had some moments of incredible insight.

“I mean, she said back in middle school, um, his dad hit him once,” Kabaya says nervously, “I don’t know about it. Apparently it was a huge thing? She said you might not have heard of it because it, uh, happened in the main building, whatever that meant. Asano’s wound,” Kabaya touches his face absently, “well, it was pretty bad. Bad enough that Rukiyo went from wanting to punch the daylights out of him to, you know, considering helping you two get back together? I mean, with Rukiyo standards, that’s pretty drastic.”

“It is,” Karma agrees, “also, get back together? We were never together in the first place.”

“Honestly, Karma,” Kabaya says seriously, “I know you’re going through a tough time in your relationship right now, but don’t even try that with me.”

“It’s true!” Karma protests. 

“You two shared a milkshake once in class during lunch,” Kabaya reminds him, “a milkshake, Karma, that he brought in, because he said that he thought about you when he walked past a store selling shakes on the way to school and bought one with strawberry flavor just to share it with you. One cup with two straws and it had a cherry on top. What are we, white people in the 80s? You were even wearing his jacket - I don’t know how you got that jacket. How the fuck did you even score that?”

“Touche,” Karma tells him, “stole it at a sleepover and never gave it back?”

“Exactly,” Kabaya slaps him a little.

\--

Karma isn’t sure what to expect when he gets home. His parents, definitely. Probably filing tax returns or his father checking his itinerary or his mother cooking up whatever weird concoction she learned from a friend of a friend of a friend in some other country that Karma has never been to.

He doesn’t really expect to see Gakushuu Asano laughing about something or another and charming smiles onto his parent’s faces, but Gakushuu has never failed to surprise him. 

“Oh, Karma, you’re back,” his mother says cordially, like she’s speaking to a stranger. Gakushuu’s fake-ass smile doesn’t fall when he looks at Karma, but he knows.

“Your friend came looking for you, but we told him you were out,” his father says, “hope you didn’t mind we had a little chat.”

“Not at all,” Karma says flatly. 

Gakushuu stands up. “Can we talk?”

“You came all the way here so I don’t see why not,” Karma says, crossing his arms. “Well?”

“Privately,” Gakushuu says, eyes flicking to Karma’s parents, who seem confused but unbothered by Karma’s hostility.

Karma sighs. “Fine.” He leads the way to his room and Gakushuu shuts the door quietly.

“I thought I told you to call me?” Karma says.

“I couldn’t get through to your phone,” Gakushuu says.

Karma takes out his phone, and scowls. He forgot to turn it on.

“I fucked up,” Gakushuu says.

“Yeah?” Karma let’s his voice waver a little, and drops his bag at his feet. “What gave you that idea?”

Gakushuu takes a step forward. Karma doesn’t step backwards, just on principle.

“I do want to see you,” Gakushuu says to him, looking up through long lashes that makes Karma’s breath catch, “I was having an awful, awful time and I said things I shouldn’t have.”

“Well what do you want me to do about it?” Karma says, hoping his voice doesn’t crack.

“I’m trying to apologize,” Gakushuu frowns at him.

“You’re shitty at it,” Karma says, “you have a one-time use for the word sorry or something?”

Gakushuu’s gze softens, “I am sorry.”

“I hate you,” Karma spits. Gakushuu deflates. “I-”

“I hate that I can’t even hate you,” Karma says hotly, “you can play me and push me away and now you’re here apologizing and I can’t even stay mad, and-”

Gakushuu kisses him.

Karma spends one and a half seconds fighting it and Gakushuu grabs both his wrists and hold them down, then he’s kissing back fervently. 

When they break apart Karma thinks he’s crying. Gakushuu definitely is.

“Sorry, sorry, sorry,” Gakushuu is repeating like a mantra.

“Not going to say I forgive you yet,” Karma sniffs, “asshole.”

“That’s fair,” Gakushuu whispers, and kisses him again. 

Gakushuu tastes like strawberry, and his hair smells like oranges. His hair is soft and his fingers on Karma’s face is kind of rough, and he’s kind of a shitty kisser come to think of it. It might be the crying they’re both doing, or maybe Karma’s the shitty kisser because he sure as fuck haven’t kissed anyone. Fuck, he gave Gakushuu his first kiss.

“Am I your first kiss?” Is the first question Karma asks, then they break apart for air.

Gakushuu’s face bursts into red. “Am I that bad?” He says quietly, a little embarrassed.

“A little,” Karma teases, “but me, too. You going to tell me why you were such a dick?”

“I got into a huge fight with Gakuhou,” Gakushuu says softly, and Karma thinks that it’s the first time Gakushuu calls his father by his first name.

“Oh,” Karma says, softly.

Gakushuu drops his arms. “My mom died when I was five, in a hit and run. She was a nurse. The driver that hit her went to the same hospital she worked at. Father never talked about her. He says I don’t remember her, but I like to think that she wouldn’t have let him or me turn out this way.”

Karma tilts his head. “This way?”

“Awful,” Gakushuu says, “we’re both twisted, horrible people. I told you that Gakuhou used to run a cram school? He used to be like your Koro-sensei, apparently. Then one of his students killed himself and he decided to revamp his entire teaching ideals.”

“That’s kind of stupid,” Karma whispers.

“Incredibly,” Gakushuu smiles a little, “he hit me again, but you already know that.”

“You okay?” Karma asks.

“Yeah,” Gakushuu says, “i think we’ll be alright.” Then he kisses Karma again.

Sometime later they end up on the bed, Gakushuu sucking a hickey under Karma’s ear, then on his neck, then at his collarbone.

“Someone’s going to see,” Karma complains.

“Yeah? Your parents?” Gakushuu hums, hands carding through Karma’s hair.

Karma shivers. “And the entire school,” he says, “these aren’t going away soon.”

“Like they don’t already think we’re dating,” Gakushuu laughs, “you know we have a betting pool?”

“What?” Karma says.

“Seo and Araki told me about it,” Gakushuu says, “on when we’ll become openly official, because there’s a theory that we’ve been dating from the start, just trying and failing to keep it low-key.”

“Oh?” Karma says, “what’s the wager?”

“A bottle of some alcohol, or something,” Gakushuu shrugs, “and like, ten dollars.”

“Wanna mess with Kunugigaoka High?” Karma smirks.

“Thought you’ll never suggest that,” Gakushuu smiles in his ear.

\--

“They don’t know I like boys,” Karma says, fiddling with his shirt collar.

“Oh,” Gakushuu says, sitting at the foot of his bed, “you don’t have to walk me out.”

“They’ll see at dinner anyways,” Karma blushes, “and we’ve been up in my room for two hours. They’re not stupid.”

Gakushuu’s phone buzzes. It’s a text from Ren, that reads, “?”

“Come here,” Gakushuu motions. He squishes his face to Karma’s, who sticks out his tongue, then takes a selfie.

Ren replies with a “!”, then, “you two look like you had fun.”

“How come you’re so clean?” Karma complains, looking at the picture, “I look like I got into a fight with a vacuum cleaner and lost.”

“You didn’t stop me,” Gakushuu shrugs.

His phone buzzes again. “Is this your official coming out?” Ren asks, “do I change my vote in the betting pool?”

“Nope,” Gakushuu types back, “we’re going to fuck with people.”

“Akabane’s neck looks like he went through a really clingy octopus,” Ren types back, “no idea how you’re going to continue to keep it low down, but good luck. It’d be funny. I tell the others?”

“Go ahead,” Gakushuu says.

“I’ll text Rukiyo and Kabaya,” Karma says, “And also Nagisa. I think he was planning your murder. They’re going to freak.”

“I forgot your class was the weird assassin class,” Gakushuu laughs, “guess I have to worry about being stabbed by a trained killer if I break your heart again?”

“Yeah, me,” Karma scolds, “don’t do that again.”

“Never,” Gakushuu promises.

“Time to face the music,” Karma sighs, getting up.

“Your parents are pretty nice,” Gakushuu says mildly.

Karma squints at him. “Don’t be all buddy-buddy with them, it’s creepy.”

“You’re friends with my father, too,” Gakushuu points out.

“Like in a he’s-my-boyfriend’s-dad way, not a social-networking way,” Karma justifies.

“Boyfriend, huh? I like that,” Gakushuu says, and kisses him lightly.

Karma’s mother is humming in the kitchen when Karma comes out. She turns around to say something, then stops. Shuts her mouth with an audible click.

Karma flushes crimson. “Mom,” he starts.  

Gakushuu steps out behind him. She looks between the both of them, eyes wide. “Oh my.”

“Ma’am,” Gakushuu smiles, charismatic. It’s infuriating, Karma thinks, he’s practically the poster-boy for all things good in the eyes of parents. If only adults knew what an asshole Gakushuu actually was.

Judging by the look on his mom’s face, however, Karma thinks that she’s rapidly evaluating her impression on both of them.

Karma’s father walks into view. “Karma, I,” he starts. Pauses. Squints.

“Come on,” Gakushuu says softly. Because he’s an asshole, he takes Karma’s hand and leads him down the stairs and smiles brilliantly at his parents, and all Karma can do is stare at them and try not to feel like his face is on fire.

“Bye baby,” Gakushuu says, eyes wrinkling with mirth and obviously enjoying this, and he leans forward and gives Karma a soft peck on the lips. “See you at school.” He practically skips out the door, that asshole.

“Oh, oh!” Karma’s mom says, her hand flying to her chest.

The colour on Karma’s face is as deep as his hair. “Mom,” he says, “don’t.”

“That explains some things, I suppose,” his father says, rubbing his chin, “were you dating Shiota too?”

“No!” Karma yells, “jesus! Nagisa and I are just friends.”

“Oh, why didn’t you invite him to stay for dinner?” His mother says, looking mournfully at the door. “Such a nice boy. When did you two get together? What’s his ranking in Kunugigaoka? When’s the wedding?”

“Mom!” Karma says, appalled. “We’re not getting married. He’s going home for dinner. And he’s, uh, number one.”

She claps her hands happily. “My son in law is the smartest boy in Japan!”

“If either one of you was a girl,” his father says almost wistfully, “you could make such cute and smart babies.”

Karma stares, horrified. “Never say that ever again.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> :P   
> We need more AC Merch. I need more Karma/Gakushuu.


	19. Chapter 19

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Have more fluff!  
> I'm glad yall like Rukiyo, haha! I based her off Nakamura/the classic "quirky side-character-bff" trope we see in almost all shows.

Karma poses a picture that Araki gleefully takes, unbuttoning the first two buttons on his shirt just to show off the marks on his collarbones.

There are audible gasps around 1-A, and his phone vibrates eagerly with notifications.

“Hey, Gakushuu,” Karma greets.

Their classmates watch in anticipation.

“Karma,” Gakushuu says disinterestedly, sounding so bored that Karma’s impressed. Gakushuu is really a great actor. 

Which is expected, Karma supposes, with that angel student act he puts up in front of everyone.

“How was your day?” Karma asks.

“Fine,” Gakushuu says mildly, “you’re slipping with your grades, Karma.”

“Yeah,” Karma says, pretending to look annoyed. Him, and the entire school. He thinks Hiru is livestreaming their interaction. 

“It’s okay, you’ll have better luck for next year,” Gakushuu says, sickly sweet, “work harder and maybe you’ll be number one again.”

Karma narrows his eyes. Gakushuu is pretty annoying. He kind of wants to punch the blonde. 

You know, on the mouth.

With his mouth.

Like, a long punch. A worryingly long punch.

“You got into a fight?” Gakushuu asks, throwing him off.

“What?” Karma asks, genuinely confused. Their classmates snicker.

“The,” Gakushuu gestures around his face and neck, “bruises.”

“Oh!” Karma’s eyes light up, understanding what he’s playing at. Naughty, Gakushuu. Karma leans forward and smirks wickedly. “These aren’t bruises, Gakushuu. You want to know how I got them?”

Gakushuu pretends to look annoyed, then shocked, then horrified, and then turns scarlet. He really is a great actor.

“Get away from me!” Gakushuu scolds, “I didn’t know you had a girlfriend.” 

“You don’t have to be attached to have some fun,” Karma purrs.

Gakushuu narrows his eyes dangerously, and it gives Karma a little thrill. Oh damn.

Gakushuu keeps shooting Karma little looks throughout lesson time, which arouses the curiosity of their classmates. He looks jealous and possessive and even manages to eat bread angrily throughout lunch even when they’re alone in the classroom, which makes Karma wonder if he’s actually acting. 

But Karashuu is blowing up, again. There are pictures of their interactions and guesses on who Karma’s “girlfriend” was and whether or not he actually has one, and shots of Gakushuu stewing in the background that made it all too real.

\--

After school Gakushuu slams Karma against the closed toilet door and closes the distance. 

“Don’t have to be attached to have some fun?” He says, voice silky smooth, mouthing at the bare skin on Karma’s neck, “trying to tell me something, eh, Karma Akabane?”

“We’re in school, Gakushuu,” Karma flirts, “can’t you wait till we get home?” 

“No one’s coming in,” Gakushuu says, “just you and me.” He sounds… oh my god. Oh my god.

“Oh my god,” Karma says, gleeful, “are you jealous of my made-up girlfriend?” 

“What? No!” Gakushuu glares, effect diminished by the red on his cheeks. 

“You are!” Karma laughs, “god, you’re so stupid. What, you think I gave myself these hickies? I thought you were just really dedicated to playing the part but turns out you’re just being ridiculous!”

“Shut up!” Gakushuu hisses, “it’s not funny.”

“It is,” Karma disagrees, “you’re hilarious. You’re my actual real boyfriend, you dork.”

“As long as you remember that,” Gakushuu mumbles, embarrassed, and buries his face in his shoulder. Karma laughs, again. 

“My mom is demanding you come over for dinner,” Karma says, playing with Gakushuu’s hair, “and my dad wants to see you in your official boyfriend capacity before he flies off.”

“Kay, tonight?” Gakushuu asks. Then the door creaks. 

Gakushuu and Karma freeze. Karma drags him into a cubicle and shuts the door just as the main toilet door opens.

Gakushuu jumps on the toilet seat and gives Karma and unimpressed look that reads, “why the fuck did you drag us into the same cubicle, imbecile?”

Karma shrugs, grinning. “Forget how to think when I’m with you,” he mouths.

Gakushuu blushes. 

There’s the sound of flushing water and someone washing their hands, and then the main door opens and closes again, and then they’re alone.

Gakushuu gingerly gets off the toilet seat. “And you call me the stupid one,” he says, more affectionately than anything.

\--

3-E buzzes with excitement. More specifically, they buzz with questions.

“WHAT HAPPENED TO KARUSHUU?” Nakamura wails over text, punctuated with crying emoji faces.

“Oh no,” Kanzaki types, “they were so cute.”

“Who’s your girlfriend, Karma?” Terasaka says, “you’re getting action and you’re not telling us?”

Karma gazes over at Gakushuu curled up by his legs on his bed, flipping through the pages of a book and humming quietly to himself.

“I don’t have a girlfriend,” Karma types, satisfied.

“Liar,” Muramatsu says.

“Maybe he’s secretly dating Asano and doesn’t want anyone to know,” Fuwa comments, “that always happens in manga.”

Miruma sends a screenshot of an Instagram post of Gakushuu glaring sourly at Karma’s back. Karma’s secretly impressed.

“Jealous???” Sugino types.

Miruma replies with a second screenshot. It’s a picture of Gakushuu in mid-conversation with Ren, but staring away at Karma somewhere to his right.

What an idiot, Karma thinks affectionately. Gakushuu flips a page.

“Hey,” Karma says.

Gakushuu looks up. “Yeah?”

“You’re kind of stupid,” Karma smiles at him.

Gakushuu rolls his eyes, then goes back to his book.

“!!!” Kayano sends.

Maehara changes the group name from “3-EXPERTS” to “Karashuu???”

Okano changes the group name from “Karashuu???” to “Karma Made Asano Sad”.

Terasaka changes the group display picture to a post where Karma is feeding Gakushuu a rice ball, except now with fake tears drawn on Gakushuu’s face.

“Who’s your girlfriend, Karma?” Muramatsu asks, “can we meet her??”

“Don’t have a girlfriend,” Karma types again.

Nakamura responds with a picture of Gakushuu, and crudely drawn pigtails.

Karma barks out a laugh, and shows the picture to Gakushuu.

“You going to tell them?” Gakushuu asks, amused.

“Do you want me to?” Karma says.

“They’re your friends,” Gakushuu shrugs. 

Karma looks down at Gakushuu, then at his group chat, where Nakamura is aggressively spamming emojis and question marks.

He gets another message. It’s from Nagisa, saying “lol”.

Karma makes a decision.

“Babe?” Karma says.

“Yeah?” Gakushuu says, still distracted by his book. Karma leans down to kiss him, then snaps a horribly angled selfie. Karma’s eyes are closed in the shot but Gakushuu’s are open with shock, and they’re startlingly violet. There’s a light blush on both their faces.

It’s perfect, Karma decides, and sends it.

The reaction is immediate.

“!!!” Nakamura sends.

There’s a voice recording sent from Kayano, which is just a full 3 seconds of her screaming. The group display picture is immediately changed to the photo with heart emojis around it, and somebody changes the group name to “Karashuu!!!”.

There’s another text from Nagisa. “LOL,” he says.

Karma replies with a “;)”.

“So we’re out to your class,” Gakushuu says, sitting up, book abandoned in favor of watching messages flood in on Karma’s phone screen.

“Mhm,” Karma says. He takes another selfie, tongue sticking out, cheek pressed to Gakushuu’s, who is looking into the camera with an embarrassed smile that’s the most genuine that everyone in 3-E has seen on him.

“Don’t tell Kunugigaoka High,” Karma types, “we’re pranking them.”

“!!!” Nakamura sends, again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What did you think??? We're almost to the end of this fic!! Ready for more?


	20. Chapter 20

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! Drew another pic.

The Virtuoso are all online, trading jabs on their chat group.

“Want to go out?” Gakushuu types, “don’t want to stay home.”

“Is your dad bothering you?” Seo asks.

“Sorta,” Gakushuu frowns, “he’s being creepy. He’s acting like he has to atone for all his childhood neglect and trying to do fatherly stuff. He tried to get me to bake cookies with him, it’s fucking weird.”

“Okay,” Koyama types, “you know that cafe that 3-E class rep Isogai used to work at?”

“Yeah,” comes Ren’s reply, “you miss the cakes, don’t you.”

“So do I,” Araki types, “there in half an hour?”

The group sends their affirmatives in the chat. He’s the first one there in fifteen. He can see Isogai busing tables in the cafe from where he’s standing outside. 

Isogai spots him, and his eyes light up. “Asano!” He waves.

Gakushuu tilts his head in acknowledgement.

“Hey, fancy seeing you here,” Isogai greets, running up to him. “Take a seat! How’s your day been?” His gaze flickers to the barely-there bruise on Gakushuu’s cheek, then ignores it. Then he leans forward and his eyes twinkle, and says almost conspiratorially, “how’s Karma?”

“Karma is a pain in the ass, as usual,” Gakushuu replies. 

Isogai laughs, “sure is. Hope he’s not causing you too much trouble, but seems like you’re handling it fine. What can I get you?”

“Just a water for now,” Gakushuu says, “waiting for people. Uh, the virtuosos.”

“Oh,” Isogai’s smile falters a little, but he perks up again. “Okay, I’ll be back!”

Karma texts him almost immediately. “Send noods.”

Gakushuu googles pictures of ramen. 

“Haha,” Karma texts, “funny.”

“We’re seventeen, idiot,” Gakushuu replies him.

“;)”, Karma types.

“Hey lover-boy,” Ren greets, settling down in the bench beside him, “why is your face red?” 

“Karma,” Gakushuu replies.

Ren smiles. “A year ago I would’ve asked if it was because of anger.”

Gakushuu turns redder. “Shut up,” he says.

“Oh my god, Ren, what did you do?” Araki says gleefully, sliding in across them. “His face is as red as his boyfriend’s hair.” Click, click, goes his camera. 

“Oh my god you guys,” Seo says, squeezing in next to Araki, “Karma’s out with some actor!” He shows a picture on instagram, floating in the Karushuu tag, of Karma sitting across Yukimara, posted a few minutes ago.

The comments are wild. “What happened to Karashuu??? Is this the new girlfriend???” sums up half the comments. “Can Karma introduce us??” explains the others.

Gakushuu snickers. He finds the post on his phone and texts it to Karma, to see the worried faces of 3 of his friends staring back.

“You’re not concerned about this?” Ren demands.

Gakushuu blinks once, twice. Right, they don’t know. “Akari Yukimara is 3-E Kayano Kaede,” he says mildly.

Koyama comes in. “What did I miss?”

“Akari Yukimara is 3-E Kayano Kaede,” Ren tells him, starstruck. 

“What?” Koyama shrieks.

Isogai comes bounding over. “Is everything alright?”

Gakusuu shows him the post on his phone.

Isogai’s eyes widen worriedly. “Oh, Asano, you know Karma isn’t cheating on you, right? You see-”

There’s a notification. Gakushuu checks it, to see a selfie from Karma, including Shiota, Nakamura and Yukimara. He shows it to the table at large and Isogai.

“Oh thank god,” Isogai deflates with relief, then, “can I get you guys started on something?”

“Just fuck me up man,” Ren says, groaning. “I can’t take this many plot twists today. Get me wasted as legally as you possibly can.”

Isogai blinks in shock. “I-” 

“Same,” Seo groans. He faceplants on the table.

Koyama has pulled out a picture of Kayano from 3-E, and is frantically comparing their faces with Araki’s phone. “I guess they do look sort of alike? The hair man, the hair throws me off.”

“Um,” Isogai says. 

“Just get us all, one of whatever these are,” Gakushuu gestures to a page of the menu and rolls his eyes. 

The cafe door bursts open. It’s a different door and a different cafe, but it’s like deja vu. “You!” Rukiyo yells, again. Kabaya trails behind her, resigned to his fate.

Ren stands up, again. “Hey, Ruki-”

“Not now, lover boy,” she waves him away, “Asano, i need a favor. Let me punch you in the face.”

“No one is punching anyone!” Isogai says.

“Go away, cutie,” Rukiyo pushes him away gently. Isogai blinks. “I won’t punch hard, I promise. Just to restore my honor. And also Karma’s.”

“What?” Gakushuu asks, incredulously.

“Well I made it a point to hit you at least once when you made him sad,” she says, waving a hand around in the air like it’s obvious, “but now you two are like, lovey-dovey again and I haven’t hit you yet, and it’s unsettling me. So, what do you say?”

“I honestly don’t think that’s necessary?” Isogai tries.

Rukiyo turns to him and wrinkles her nose. “God, you look familiar.”

“That’s Isogai,” Gakushuu tells her.

Rukiyo’s eyes light up. “Oh my god, 3-E Isogai?! You grew up! You’re so cute!”

Isogai blinks. “Thank you?”

Ren splutters, “excuse me?”

Kabaya shrugs, in a what-can-you-do? Way. Gakushuu shares his sentiment. This is what he feels like dealing with Karma.

\--

Valentine’s is a big event.

This year, Gakushuu is gifted with a way less-than-normal amount of chocolate by giggling girls. None of their seniors give any freshmen with anything although there’s talk about the more attractive ones, and with the Karashuu tag floating around most people decide to sit back and watch the fun. 

“Gakushuu!” Karma throws his hands up excitedly, “happy V-day!”

“Hello Karma,” Gakushuu greets plainly. He’s pretty sure there’s a camera or two following both him and Karma around the entire day, non-discreetly. Araki’s certainly is. 

Karma had giggled and laughed and run away when Gakushuu interrogated him about his plans for Valentine’s, so Gakushuu checks his seat and desk before sitting down. Who knows whatever the boy planned, little devil.

There’s nothing much on and Karma still gives him little mischievous looks throughout the day, and there’s no wasabi in Gakushuu’s lunch or his shoes or his pencil case, so he’s not really sure what Karma is planning. 

Gakushuu’s wary. He’s almost afraid. He opens his locker to get ready for basketball practice and a literal waterfall of chocolates rain down on him.

Students in the hallway gleefully ogle Gakushuu openly, sitting dumbfounded in a large mountain of chocolate. They’re all packed in bags and cute ribbons and for some inexplicable reason, Karma’s stupid winky face with his tongue sticking out, as a sticker to keep said bags sealed.

Click, goes Araki’s camera shutter.

Gakushuu jumps to his feet. “Karma Akabane!!!”

Karma’s just round the corner, absolutely losing it. “Did you see the look on your face?” Karma wheezes, “worth it.”

“Where did you get this much chocolate?” Gakushuu says, waving a hand at the small hill in the corridor.

Karma immediately sobers up, then his face turns pink. It’s adorable. “I made them.”

Gakushuu looks between the mountain, then Karma, then Araki, grinning.

“But,” Gakushuu says, “why?”

Karma looks a little irritated. “What do you mean, why? It’s Valentine’s day, idiot. You make chocolate for the guy you like, duh.” He manages to sound bashful and annoyed at the same time.

There’s a collective “aww” from their peanut gallery.

“You like me?” Gakushuu says dumbly.

Of course he knew that. But for some reason, his brain just wasn’t processing it. 

Karma gives him the world’s most unimpressed expression, it beats Gakahou’s by a mile.

“I changed my mind,” Karma says, deadpan. 

Gakushuu’s become reckless of late. Every step used to be meticulously planned out or at least thought over with at least 70% brain before execution, but he hasn’t been using his brain very much lately, especially not when it comes to Karma Akabane. 

He’s been pretty much doing the equivalent of a mental “fuck it” whenever it comes to something Karma-related. It’s stupid, unpredictable, thrilling in the way that a rollercoaster going off the tracks is thrilling, and he thinks he’s been riding on an adrenaline high since the start of this goddamn year.

Ba-dum, ba-dum, Gakushuu’s heart agrees.

Karma’s giving him an odd look now. It’s adorable.

“Marry me,” Gakushuu blurts.

“What?” Karma’s eyes widen. 

Somewhere in the cacophony of noises, Gakushuu thinks he hears Rukiyo scream. Same, Rukiyo, he thinks.

Karma’s jaw drops. Fuck, Gakushuu loves him.

It’s somewhat liberating to think that out loud.

“Marry me,” Gakushuu repeats again, “idiot.” He steps forward and curls his hand at the back of Karma’s neck and leans in.

He thinks he hears the sound of Ren sobbing somewhere.

When they break apart Karma’s grinning as stupidly as Gakushuu feels. “We’re seventeen,” he says.

“Is that a no?” Gakushuu asks, eyes bright.

Karma laughs. “Okay,” he says, “if we take over the world in ten years, I’ll say yes.”

“Ten years is way too long,” Gakushuu tells him.

“Seven, then,” Karma says, “or five, if you’re feeling particularly ambitious.”

“Hey,” Gakushuu says.

Karma smiles brilliantly at him. “Yeah?”

Gakushuu steps forward into his space, tilting Karma’s chin up with a finger, distantly aware of the crowd around them, but Karma is staring at him with soft eyes and warmth and love and fuck, Gakushuu loves this boy. 

What an idiot.

Both of them are.

“Okay,” Gakushuu says, “how about this. Let’s make a bet.” 

\--

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OKAY SO.   
> This is where I planned for the fic to end!! BUT. There's just a bit more! Okay I sort of wrote an epilogue/extra scenes at the back just for fun so I'll post those as one last chapter after this, but this is the sort-of "official" last chapter for this fic. Hope everyone enjoyed it?  
> Thanks for following! HMU with more fic prompts and story ideas ;) Was fun writing this!


	21. Chapter 21

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! This is it, the final installment! It'd been real fun writing this. Hope it's been fun for yall too!   
> Posting this earlier than my normal posting time because I have something on in the afternoon and don't want to leave everyone hanging, so have a early morning/afternoon/evening/night (idk what timezone do yall live in) post!  
> The extras that never made it into the cut/some stuff I wrote for *after* the final chapter!

Epilogue/Bonus/Extras:

\--

(The milkshake scene that Kabaya talked about that one time)

“Karma,” Gakushuu says, voice uncharacteristically open and nice-sounding, “I got you something.”

“That sounds suspicious,” Karma narrows his eyes. Gakushuu plonks a giant plastic cup with some strange pink drink on the table. 

“Where the hell were you hiding that?” Karma stares at it. “What is that?”

“It’s a strawberry milkshake,” Gakushuu says, pulling out his lunchbox, “so you don’t steal my lunch today.”

“That won’t stop me,” Karma says automatically, then pauses. He turns to look at Gakushuu, eyebrow raised. “...this is really for me?”

“Yes,” Gakushuu says. He starts on his bento and watches Karma in interest, while the latter continues to examine the… gift? Was it a gift? 

Karma stares, bewildered. There was surely a catch or something, right? Maybe it was poisoned? 

Gakushuu laughs a little at Karma’s confused face, staring at the drink like it was a math equation. “You’re so paranoid,” Gakushuu says good-naturedly, and Karma wonders what kind of drugs he’s on today and if he hit his head. Gakushuu stirs the shake and takes a sip from it. “I’m not the one that usually adds wasabi to random foodstuffs anyways,” Gakushuu says casually.

Karma takes the drink. It tastes sweet.

“Thanks,” Karma says, feeling oddly touched. 

Gakushuu hums, and goes back to his food. Karma stares at the milkshake for a lot longer, then sips it again.

“It reminds me of my strawberry milk,” Karma says offhandedly.

“It reminded me of that, too,” Gakushuu tells him, making Karma blink in surprise. 

"Saw it on the way to school," Gakushuu says, a little shyly. It's kind of adorable.

“Oh,” Karma says, “well, thanks.”

“If you want to say thanks, you can return my jacket?” Gakushuu says.

“Nope,” Karma wraps his arms around the varsity jacket he stole. “It’s mine now. Fit’s perfectly.”

“That’s because the jacket’s huge, idiot,” Gakushuu points out, “It’s supposed to fit most people in an oversized way. I got it from America.”

“Well I got it from a closet that was left unattended in my presence,” Karma sticks his tongue out, “it’s comfy. Finder’s keepers!”

Gakushuu stares at him, deadpan. Karma grins.

\--

(After school, after events of last chapter)

His father’s extremely smug look greets him when he steps through the door.

Gakushuu starts blushing. “Don’t say it,” he warns.

“Not even a ring, Gakushuu,” Gakuhou sighs dramatically, “I didn’t raise you to be so lax in your courtship behavior. We have plenty of money to get Akabane at least ten carats-”

“BYE!” Gakushuu yells, clapping his hands over his ears and bounding up the stairs.

“I got your mother fifteen!” Gakuhou hollers.

\--

(At the same time)

“Oh congratulations, honey,” Karma’s mother looks absolutely elated, “I heard the great news.”

“What great news?” Karma eyes her warily, one foot into the doorway. She’s as eccentric as ever and Karma still hasn’t gotten used to her.

“Your engagement, sweetie,” she titters, “your father is so excited! You should invite Asano and his father over soon, we need to start discussing-”

“Mom!” Karma’s face burns. This is all Gakushuu’s fault. “We’re seventeen!”

“Well, then it’d be a really long engagement,” she says, “you know, your father and I were engaged for three years because we were never at the same country long enough to get married. We actually got a shotgun wedding in Cancun, can you believe that! Of course you two will be staying in Japan so we can have an elaborate-”

“We’re not talking about this,” Karma hisses, face red, “not for another ten years.”

“Or seven,” his mother says mischievously, “or five, if you’re feeling particularly ambitious.”

\--

(Sometime after the 2nd Cafe incident where Rukiyo tries to fight Gakushuu, the one with an Isogai cameo)

“You really think Isogai is cute?” Ren says, hands in his pockets.

“He’s not just cute, he’s hot,” Rukiyo insists, “why are you so hung up about that anyways?”

“Well,” Ren blushes, “I’m supposed to be the most attractive in Kunugigaoka.”

“Uh huh,” Rukiyo smirks, unconvinced. “Well he doesn’t go to Kunugigaoka anymore,” she points out, “but I think Mahiro has you beat.”

“2-B Mahiro?” Ren says, appalled.

“I love his hair,” Rukiyo gushes. Ren touches his hair a little, frowning.

“Well,” Rukiyo regards him critically, and Ren doesn’t think that he’d felt this exposed before. “I guess you’re alright,” she shrugs.

“What does that mean?” He demands.

“Oh, that’s Kabaya. See ya!” Rukiyo says, then runs away.

“Hey!” Ren says.

“You have the Karashuu face on you now,” Araki says accusingly, eyes narrowed at Ren. Click, goes his camera.

\--

(Immediately after that)

“The hell were you guys talking about?” Kabaya glances back at Sakakibara, being ribbed by Araki over something that’s making him do what seems to be an interpretive dance mixed with a pigeon impression.

“You ever feel,” Rukiyo says, throwing her hands in the air, “a sense of power, like you can control anyone you want and make them do your bidding?”

“...can’t say I have,” Kabaya squints suspiciously, “you sound like Asano.” 

Rukiyo cackles.

\--

(One, two months later)

“2 or 3 cups of flour?” Gakushuu asks, staring at the mixing bowl in his hands.

Behind him mixing something on the kitchen island, Gakuhou hums. There’s the sound of a page flipping, then, “3.”

Gakushuu pours in the flour. “This is so weird,” he says.

“I’ve never felt more uncomfortable in my life,” Gakuhou agrees. 

“Why did you decide baking was a suitable bonding activity for us again?” Gakushuu starts beating eggs into the flour. “What are we even making?”

“Cupcakes,” his father says a little awkwardly, “your mother used to love baking.”

Gakushuu pauses, then continues mixing. “Oh,” he says, “that’s. Nice. Still weird, though.”

“I never had any talent for this,” Gakuhou admits, “Shiina used to chase me out of the kitchen, but you got to sit in and be her taste tester.”

“Finally found something you suck at,” Gakushuu quips.

“...first time for everything,” his father mumbles quietly, and Gakushuu smiles to himself. 

“Yeah,” he says.

\--

(Sometime shortly after the end of the last chapter)

“When do you think we should tell Karma that we’re dating?” Kayano asks, leaning over Nagisa’s shoulder to see Karma spamming heart emojis and “ask her out!!!”s, and a memorable “if I can get a fiance you can get that girl”, which Nagisa screenshots.

“Maybe after he gives me more blackmail material?” Nagisa suggests.

“How did it take so long for people to see that you were the true secret mastermind assassin?” Kayano laughs.

“Because Karma’s an attention magnet,” Nagisa says, “standing next to him is like a blind spot.”

“Unless you’re Asano, apparently,” Kayano says, “wanna make out?”

“Hmm, course,” Nagisa grins.

\--

(Sometime in their 2nd year of Kunugigaoka High)

“Burgundy,” Seo says, “it’s a fancy colour, and a cross between purple and red.”

“Why purple and red?” Koyama asks, flipping through the catalogue he has propped open on his lap.

“Gakushuu’s eyes and Akabane’s hair, duh,” Seo says.

“No, it’s too far-fetched,” Koyama comments, “do hair-hair or eyes-eyes.”

“Amber,” Araki says, “red, orange, violet? We should go with a fire theme.”

“Fuchsia,” Gakuhou says abruptly, “the colour and the plant.”

“We should burn something,” Rukiyo says, “because their love is passionate, like a fire. Also because Karma would love it if there was something on fire.”

“We should burn something,” Ren agrees.

“Get your own opinions, jackass,” Rukiyo says.

“I don’t think we should set something on fire,” Kabaya raises an eyebrow, “that’s dangerous.”

“Candles?” Araki raises an eyebrow.

“What the fuck are all of you doing in my house?” Gakushuu demands, front door slamming open. Karma steps in around him, confused.

“Language, son,” Gakuhou says, the same time Ren says, “planning your wedding, duh.”

There’s a beat of silence, then two. Then Koyama throws the wedding catalogue he has in the air and screams, “run!”

\--

(Kabaya and Rukiyo meet Nagisa and Nakamura)

Rukiyo and Nakamura scream at the same time. Karma lost track of their conversation about 3 minutes ago. 

Kabaya, who seems to be an expert Rukiyo decoder, looks vaguely haunted. 

“What are you people waiting for?” Nakamura says urgently, and Rukiyo glares at Nagisa and Karma, like it’s somehow their fault that they didn’t manage to follow the mess of words that was supposed to be a plan. 

“So what are we doing again?” Nagisa whispers to Kabaya when the boys are all being forcibly dragged downtown to complete a certain task the girls have set their mind on, who says, “they’re going to the library to borrow self-help books on how to stop being a coward and ask someone out, and Karma’s supposed to get Sakakibara’s address from Asano, and they’re going to go over to his house and dress up as salespeople and pretend to sell the books to him, I don’t know.”

“I’m supposed to what?” Karma hisses.

“That’s a terrible plan,” Nagisa says, “what does it even achieve?”

“Entertainment for the next 2 hours?” Kabaya shrugs.

"So does Rukiyo like him or not?" Karma demands.

"It's her courtship method," Kabaya says, rolling his eyes affectionately, "pranks, teasing, being a general nuisance. She got 3 boyfriends that way. It's actually like you, Karma, except she's actually smarter than you in this field and knows what's going on." 

\--

(The 3E Reunion feat. Asano Gakushuu)

“I never thought Asano would be such an okay dude,” Maehara says.

“I’ve told you he was pretty cool,” Isogai says mildly, “you just thought I kept seeing the best in people and thus my opinion of him was biased.”

“You do see the best in everyone,” Nakamura points out.

“He didn’t become student council president by kissing ass,” Megu shrugs, “he actually did good work for the school. The ex-principal didn’t play favorites, if he was biased at all it was mostly against Asano, actually.”

“I saw him get yelled at by Asano senior in front of everyone in the council before,” Isogai nods, eyes wide. “It was horrifying.”

Somewhere in the background, Asano was viciously berating his boyfriend, standing in a wet uniform and a telltale bucket by his feet. Karma is laughing like a little shit.

“Karma with Asano, of all people,” Nakamura says, “who knew?”

“Eh,” Nagisa shrugs, “I don’t know, if anyone can get Karma to chill for a second, it’s Asano.”

“Looks like he’s found a foolproof tactic,” Fuwa swoons.

Behind them, Asano has Karma in a headlock. Karma wriggles out of it and catches Asano in a chokehold, who does some complicated maneuver and pins Karma to the ground.

“The pinnacle of modern romance,” Yada says flatly.

\--

(Gakushuu meets Karma’s parents, part 1)

Gakushuu shifts on Karma’s porch. He pulls out his phone and dials Karma’s number which he memorized for no reason at all, and the call doesn’t connect.

“Whatever,” he steels himself, and knocks.

There’s a shuffle and a female voice calling out, “Coming!”

Oh fuck. Fuck.

Karma’s parents are back.

Gakushuu almost turns to bolt when a woman opens the door. She’s tall and slender and has fiery red hair that matches her son’s, even if the rest of her face his rounder and softer than Karma’s is.

“Who might you be?” She asks.

“My name is Asano Gakushuu,” Gakushuu greets politely, bowing a little, “I was actually here to see your son, Karma.”

“Oh!” She says, sounding pleasantly surprised, “that’s nice. Karma’s not home right now but please come in! Have a drink while you wait.”

She sweeps into the house rather gracefully and Gakushuu steps in. There’s an unfamiliar man in the living room who Gakushuu sees where Karma gets his eyes and sharp features from.

“This is Karma’s friend, Asano,” Karma’s mother introduces.

“Hello.” Gakushuu bows again.

“You his classmate?” Karma’s father raises an eyebrow. 

“Yes,” Gakushuu answers. Hopefully boyfriend, he doesn’t say.

“My son never lets us know anything about his personal life,” Karma’s father rolls his eyes.

“So shy, that boy,” his mother titters.

“How’s school?” Karma’s father asks. Gakushuu deflates - mindless polite chit-chat he could do. It’s all he ever does with his own father when they’re pretending to be civil, anyways.

\--

(Sometime, the inevitable)

This is it, Karma thinks, his worst nightmare.

“Our, worst nightmare,” Gakushuu corrects, squeezing his hand.

“That’s sweet baby, but that doesn’t change facts,” Karma corrects him.

“Bury me alive and it’d be a mercy,” Gakushuu whispers.

“-and he was such a rowdy kid,” Karma’s mother is saying, “kept running and screaming and smashing things! We tried to stay in Japan for the first years of Karma’s life to give him stability-”

“-painted my entire study yellow!” Gakuhou rolls his eyes, “tiny handprints everywhere! Shiina kept telling me not to mind because he was just four but he ruined all my documents-”

“-got into the fridge, and locked himself in,” Karma’s father laughs, “couldn’t find him for minutes, thank god we had a walk-in-”

“They’re becoming friends,” Gakushuu says in horror.

“We’re leaving Japan,” Karma agrees.

\--

(Sometime in 3rd year of Kunugigaoka High)

“Karma and I are eloping,” Gakushuu says seriously to Ren, “we haven’t decided where to go yet but I’ll call you from a burner phone.”

“You can’t be serious,” Ren says, amused, “you two are eighteen.”

“There are wedding magazines everywhere!” Karma hisses, grabbing onto his collar, “the official adult-age in Japan is 21 but it’s 18 in tons of other countries and our parents are. Getting. Ready. Yesterday they asked me what I wanted the colour of my table runners to be. My Dad skyped me from 3am in Europe to show me a wedding cake in a storefront he walked past.”

“Father brought me ring shopping,” Gakushuu groans, “and tux shopping, and wedding cake tasting. He’s either laughing at me or taking the whole atone-for-his-sins thing way too seriously.”

Ren thinks. “Both,” he decides.

“Well I can’t help you with your dilemma now,” Ren tells them, grinning, “not only is this objectively hilarious to me, I’m meeting Rukiyo for lunch in about… 15 minutes.”

Karma and Gakushuu look at each other.

“What?” Ren says.

Gakushuu crosses his arms. “Hypocrite,” he says.

\--

(Gakushuu meets Karma’s parents, part 2)

“Oh Asano, dear!” Karma’s mother envelopes him in a sweeping hug the moment he steps into the doorway, “you should have said! Boyfriends, oh my!”

“Mom,” Karma says, standing to the side, blushing.

“Sorry, ma’am,” Gakushuu smiles a little, “I wanted to talk it over with your son, first.”

“Come in, come in, make yourself at home,” Karma’s mother waves a hand, “Karma, honey, your father’s out back trying to get his motorbike to work again. He hasn’t used that goddamn thing in a year, I don’t know what he’s trying to do. Should have thrown it out, I swear. Make sure he doesn’t blow himself up?”

Karma shrugs. Gakushuu follows him into the garage, where Karma’s father is starting up a sleek looking motorcycle, and staring at it.

“Wondering if I have time to take it out for a drive,” he says to the boys, rubbing his chin, “but I think your mother would kill me. She’d always hated this thing.”

Gakushuu examines the bike curiously.

“Can you ride?” Karma’s father asks him.

“We’re not 18 yet,” Karma says.

“I did tons of stuff underage, good student or no,” his father replies, the same time Gakushuu says, “yeah, I can.”

Karma’s eyebrows disappear into his fringe. His father looks amused, and motions to the bike. Gakushuu hops on and revs the engine.

The bike purrs, and Karma does a little, too. Gakushuu smirks wickedly at him. Karma turns red.

“Well,” his father says mildly, “I’m guess I don’t have to be worried about either of you getting pregnant.”

“Dad!” Karma yells, mortified.

\--

(2nd year of Kunugigaoka High)

“You play?” Karma says, looking over Gakushuu’s guitars and keyboard in one corner of his room.

“Oh, yes, I do,” Gakushuu says, “I was performing in school a couple of times but you must have missed it, being on a mountain and all.”

“Sad,” Karma pouts, “no wonder the whole school has a crush on you.”

“Have a thing for boys with guitars?” Gakushuu teases. He walks over to grab the acoustic and gives it an experimental strum.

“You don’t?” Karma stretches out on Gakushuu’s bed and grins lazily.

“A little conceited, if I did,” Gakushuu says. He starts tuning.

“Not that you ever worry about your ego getting to big?” Karma raises an eyebrow.

Gakushuu sits on the bed next to him. He starts off humming, then plays a song and sings. It’s a love song.

By the end of it Karma is staring enraptured at him, still laid out on the bed but blushing.  “That was so hot,” he says, breathless.

“Want me to play another?” Gakushuu laughs. 

“Yes,” Karma insists. He gets up and slides onto Gakushuu’s lap and straddles him, displacing the guitar. 

“Can’t play like this, idiot,” Gakushuu says softly.

“I’d rather you play me like the guitar,” Karma says, and it sounds fucking ridiculous and Gakushuu already has a comeback for it, but Karma leans in and they don’t do much talking after that.

\--

(2nd year of Kunugigaoka High where Karma discovers the truth)

“Lies!” Karma yells, clutching his chest, “betrayal! By my own best friend!”

“You’re being so dramatic,” Nagisa muses, “I wonder how Asano puts up with you.”

“That boy is in his own head more than I’m in mine,” Karma insists, then, “How could you!”

“It was pretty funny,” Kayano says, smiling.

“How long!” Karma yells.

“A few months,” Kayano says. “Four,” Nagisa says.

“Four whole months and I’m left out of the loop!” Karma exclaims, looking personally offended, “four! Months!”

“I didn’t want to steal your thunder,” Nagisa tells him, amused, “you were so happy about your engagement, after all.”

“Stop bringing that up!” Karma says, face flaming, “god, Gakushuu’s an idiot. That’s all I’ve been hearing these days." 

"Anyways," Nagisa grins at him mischievously, "I wanted to see how long it would take for you to find out.”

“Way too long,” Kayano tells Karma solemnly, “the first month could be forgiven because you had your own feelings to sort out. But after that? We met up like, 10 times and you failed to notice a thing. Nakamura  aught on before you.”

“It did take an entire year for Karma to realize that you liked Asano,” Nagisa reasons with her, “four months is an improvement.”

“I hate both of you,” Karma pouts.

\--

(Before graduation?? Maybe??)

“Hey,” Karma says, lying next to Gakushuu on his absurdly large bed, “how the hell did we get here?”

“Because you’re annoying and won’t leave me alone,” Gakushuu says automatically.

“You’re annoying,” Karma bites back, then, “glad I didn’t, though.”

“Yeah,” Gakushuu hums, “you’re alright, I guess.”

“Ass,” Karma laughs. 

“We should get married,” Gakushuu tells him.

Karma raises an eyebrow. “Now?”

“I don’t want to get together after we take over the world,” Gakushuu says honestly, “I want to conquer the world with you.”

Karma’s breath catches. “Yeah?”

Gakushuu smiles brilliantly at him. “Yeah,” he says.

“Well,” Karma says softly, “then yes. I do.”

“We’re not even at an altar,” Gakushuu teases, then relaxes, “but I do, too.”

"What a shitty wedding," Karma whispers, eyes twinkling with mirth, "no witness, no reception, no priest. Getting married in pajamas. Not even a cake."

"What did you expect?" Gakushuu laughs a little, "I proposed in our school hallway."

"Classy," Karma says, "top notch planning for Kunugigaoka's number One."

"Me or you?" Gakushuu raises an eyebrow.

Karma grins at him. "Yes."

"I'll get you a fucking dramatic reception," Gakushuu says, "don't think any of our parents would forgive us if we went any lesser than 300 guests and a million bucks."  


"I think my mom's going to invite her friends from India," Karma laughs.

Gakushuu is silent for a moment. Then he asks, "are we actually going to get married?"

Karma rolls on top of him. "Change your mind?" He teases, but there's an undercurrent of hesitance.

"18's pretty young to decide who you want to spend the rest of your life with," Gakushuu says. 

"I guess," Karma dips his head. Gakushuu flips them over so he's on top, then kisses him a bit. 

"When we fought back in our first year of High School," Gakushuu tells him, "me and my father, he said that I never took risks, even back when I was trying to uncover the secret of your 3-E and trying to beat you. Always went for the safe route, but," he kisses Karma lightly again, "I've learnt that taking risks can be actually pretty fucking fun, and worth it."

"You sure you want to go down this hell of a path with me?" Karma asks, eyes wet, "I don't think I'll ever take the safe route. Maybe you're running off an adrenaline high. Maybe you'll want to go back and take the steady path."

"Maybe," Gakushuu admits, and he looks at Karma and says sincerely, "I'm not going to lie. I might want to take breaks from the high road. But I'm willing to follow you in your daredevil approach to life for as long we both can, and I'm asking you now, sometimes I might want to slow down, so will you slow down with me?"

Karma sniffles. "That's the worst fucking wedding vows I've ever heard."

"It sounded better in my head," Gakushuu laughs a little.

"Most people do this before the I dos," Karma laughs wetly, "but yes, I do again, asshole."

"I do again too, then," Gakushuu grins.

Karma smiles warmly, then buries his face in the crook of Gakushuu’s neck and yawns.

“Nights, Karma,” Gakushuu whispers.

“Goodnight, Gakushuu.” Karma says back.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow haha that was.... extra?  
> Hehe see you guys soon! Let me know if you have fic requests but I have something cooking on the stove in the meantime!

**Author's Note:**

> Hope this was fun? Will update regularly, see you soon!


End file.
